Yellow Card, the largest licensed stablecoin payments infrastructure provider in Africa, has announced a major global expansion into key markets including Argentina, Brazil, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Pakistan, and Colombia.
The move coincides with the release of its latest industry report, Stablecoin Adoption in Emerging Markets, which highlights the growing role of stablecoins in providing financial stability in volatile economies.
“Our success in Africa created the blueprint for our global expansion,” said Chris Maurice, CEO and Co-Founder of Yellow Card.
“The financial friction businesses face, from currency devaluation to unreliable liquidity, isn’t a regional issue; it’s a universal one. We are now deploying that proven model to provide the essential financial rails that businesses everywhere need to thrive.”
The report analyzes the drivers of digital finance in Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, emphasizing that unlike in Western economies, stablecoin adoption in emerging markets is driven by necessity rather than speculation.
Key applications include cross-border trade, insurance, and treasury management for businesses operating in unstable financial environments.
“The report highlights critical real-world applications, such as facilitating cross-border trade, transforming insurance, and aiding businesses with treasury management in volatile economies,” said Lasbery Chioma Oludimu, VP of Global Operations and MD of Yellow Card Nigeria.
“It also shows the rapid growth of stablecoin transactions, surpassing Visa and Mastercard in 2024, and underscores the role of companies like Yellow Card in deploying payment rails technology to support financial stability and efficiency.”
Key insights from the report include:
- Stablecoin annual transaction value has reached US$15.6 trillion.
- Central and Southern Asia, Africa, and Latin America lead the 2024 Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption Index, with India and Nigeria ranked first and second.
- In Argentina, 61.8 percent of crypto transactions involved stablecoins, driven by soaring inflation, far above the global average.
- Stablecoins account for 43 percent of crypto transaction volume in Sub-Saharan Africa, with Nigeria alone processing nearly US$22 billion in stablecoin transactions between July 2023 and June 2024.
- Stablecoins represent 99 percent of Yellow Card’s business, with core use cases including treasury management, business payments, purchasing goods, and cross-border trade.
The report also notes a shift toward low-cost, high-speed blockchain networks and growing institutional adoption, including partnerships with fintech firms and banks.
Founded in Nigeria in 2019, Yellow Card has grown to operate in 20 African countries and has facilitated nearly US$6 billion in transaction volumes, 99 percent of which are in stablecoins.
The company employs over 200 staff from 24 countries and has raised US$85 million in equity financing.
The full report, Stablecoin Adoption in Emerging Markets, is available for download on Yellow Card’s website.
