From the margins to the mainstream: The new capital frontier is not what you think it is | Opinion

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Stablecoins may be the most underappreciated financial infrastructure of our time. In the West, discourse on stablecoins remains trapped between compliance and innovation, despite their quiet role as an indispensable financial tool for millions across emerging markets.

From remittances and cross-border trade to on-chain yield and enterprise-grade payments, the most meaningful and scalable stablecoin use cases are no longer incubated in Silicon Valley or on Wall Street but on the streets of Lagos, Buenos Aires, and Ho Chi Minh City.

For many individuals in these markets, stablecoins represent a redefinition of what money is, how it moves, and who it works for. For investors, the message is clear: the future of digital finance will increasingly be co-authored by communities that build solutions out of necessity rather than novelty.

Emerging markets as proving grounds

Born out of necessity, stablecoins have become foundational to economic participation across Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

In Venezuela, where hyperinflation and currency collapse destabilised the local bolívar, stablecoins account for nearly half of crypto transactions under $10,000. Elsewhere, stablecoins represent up to 43% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s total crypto transaction volume, mirroring a similar pattern of widespread currency devaluation and growing demand for USD-pegged stability. Similarly, with the majority of the country’s population lacking banking access, people in Vietnam are also turning to stablecoins to relieve the cost burden of high remittance fees. Many SMEs and gig workers are increasingly leaning on digital payments solutions like stablecoins to avoid high fees and FX conversion bottlenecks.

Such examples prove that emerging markets are, in fact, real-world stress tests for the next chapter of global finance, and hotspots for investors seeking growth where traditional systems fall short.

Generation dollar: Banking the next generation

Disrupted trade flows, rising import costs, and weakening currencies impact the global economy, but it is the emerging markets in the Global South that bear the greatest brunt of instability.

One in seven people across the world who rely on remittances will have to bear the high transfer costs that can reach up to 8.2%, cutting into income that could otherwise support food, education, or medical bills.

For this next generation of digital-native workers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses, navigating today’s economy requires fast, resilient, and stable borderless financial tools. Stablecoins have become exactly that: reliable financial instruments that enable millions to hedge against volatile environments. From enabling freelancers in Southeast Asia to receive instant payments to helping merchants in Africa reduce FX exposure, such tools provide tangible, dollar-based resilience to everyday users.

A new “generation dollar” is emerging; one that is no longer bound by the realms of legacy institutions but is building its own parallel economy via alternative payment rails and digital currencies. Investors—like us at Foresight Ventures—should take note of this sobering reminder of the real-world challenges experienced by those our portfolio companies are serving. Smart capital is ultimately about empowering builders who are solving real financial frictions, bridging access gaps, and overcoming yield constraints in regions where traditional finance continues to fall short.

Rebuilding finance from the phone up

As DeFi becomes more embedded in everyday financial flows, the future of finance will be built into digital mobile wallets, and not banks. This wallet-native model is reshaping access in some of the world’s most underserved regions, returning financial control to individuals and small businesses.

Tools like PayFi help bridge the gap between on-chain yields and real-world spending, enabling users to hold dollar-denominated assets providing 5–8% yield, instant settlement, and borderless payments. Such tools become important micro-financial systems in countries like Morocco and Vietnam, where the majority of the population remains unbanked.

With mobile-first interoperable infrastructure that merges yield, liquidity, and utility in a single interface, stablecoins offer a level of financial agility that traditional systems cannot match, reducing cross-border fees from 6.65% globally to near-zero.

And this is key: as stablecoins, yield protocols, and DeFi rails converge in the palm of the hand, the next chapter of global finance will be downloaded. As investors race to catalyse wallet ecosystems, we are witnessing the industry unlocking new forms of economic agency and inclusion.

The new financial power play

With mobile-first adoption and rising economic pressure, financial power is becoming more democratised by technology. Emerging markets are at the heart of this shift, leading the next chapter of financial innovation, and adapting socioeconomic fabrics in tandem with the progress of crypto-native infrastructure. Need and ingenuity are colliding in the Global South, a living laboratory for scalable, durable, and inclusive financial innovation.

For investors in the space, realising web3’s full potential now depends on bridging the ideological and structural divide between East and West. We need to combine the regulatory clarity and capital depth of developed markets with the grassroots innovation and real-world deployment that we’re seeing from the Global South. 

This requires investment not just in technology, but in geography, where capital in wallet infrastructure, stablecoin rails, and programmable yield protocols that are locally attuned and globally interoperable can build a truly inclusive financial system, one that scales both innovation and impact.

Forest Bai

Forest Bai is the founder of Foresight Ventures, an investment firm focused on the blockchain and cryptocurrency sectors. With extensive experience in finance and technology, Forest leads Foresight Ventures in identifying and supporting innovative blockchain projects and early-stage companies. His work emphasizes long-term growth and strategic partnerships within the evolving digital asset landscape.