Following its rapid progress in Africa, Yellow Card – a leading stablecoin payments infrastructure provider – is expanding into other key emerging markets including Argentina, Brazil, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Pakistan, and Colombia.
The company’s global expansion is supported by the release of its latest report – Stablecoin Adoption In Emerging Markets.
“Our success in Africa created the blueprint for our global expansion,” says 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 businesses everywhere need to thrive.”
The report analyses the key drivers and infrastructure shaping digital finance across Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. It finds that, unlike in Western nations, stablecoin adoption in these regions is fueled by urgent, practical needs.
“The report showcases real-world applications such as facilitating cross-border trade, transforming insurance, and aiding businesses with treasury management in volatile economies,” says Lasbery Chioma Oludimu, VP of Global Operations and MD of Yellow Card Nigeria. “It also details the rapid growth of stablecoin transactions which surpassed Visa and Mastercard in 2024. Furthermore, it outlines key players like Yellow Card, the underlying technology, and future trends emphasising stablecoins as a fundamental tool for financial stability and efficiency.”
Yellow Card’s latest report highlights that businesses in emerging markets are not adopting stablecoins because of a passion for blockchain, but because of a business prerogative to survive unpredictable economic environments.
Other insights from the report include:
- The annual transaction value of stablecoins has hit $15,6-trillion.
- Regions like Central/Southern Asia, Africa, and Latin America dominate the 2024 Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption Index – with India and Nigeria ranked 1st and 2nd.
- In Argentina, 61,8% of crypto transactions involved stablecoins as a direct response to soaring inflation, a figure significantly higher than the global average.
- Stablecoins now account for 43% of total crypto transaction volume in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria alone processed nearly $22-billion in stablecoin transactions between July 2023 and June 2024.
- Stablecoins represent 99% of Yellow Card’s business, with some of the top business use cases being: trading and treasury management, purchasing goods, making business payments, and cross-border payments.
The report further explores the technological shift towards low-cost, high-speed blockchain networks and details growing institutional adoption from major corporations and partnerships with fintechs and banks.
The full report, “Stablecoin Adoption In Emerging Markets,” is available for download on the Yellow Card website.