The $1B Stablecoin Neobank No One Noticed Just Snagged SBI’s Backing—Here’s the Real Story

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By: Oliver Hawthorne
The global cross-border payments market has long been a stagnant, fee-heavy racket. Most consumers and small businesses write off fast, cheap cross-border transfers as a pipe dream. Yet a little-known LA-based stablecoin neobank just closed a $68 million Series C round to hit $1 billion valuation. No flashy product launches, no viral marketing campaigns, just quiet, consistent growth over 12 straight profitable months. That’s the core contradiction at the heart of this under-the-radar fintech breakout.
Fasset’s official announcements lay out unvarnished operational metrics. The firm posted 12 straight months of profitable operations. Its annualized transaction volume tops $40 billion across 125 countries. Revenue grew six-fold year over year in 2026. Total funding this year hits $119 million, after two rounds in May and August. It runs on OWN Network, a proprietary Ethereum Layer 2 built on Arbitrum. The network links 100+ banking corridors globally. Fasset partnered with SBI Remit for 470,000 payout locations across 200 countries. SBI Group, the lead investor, has a long track record in digital assets. It holds stakes in Ripple, Circle and DeFi lender Morpho, and owns crypto liquidity provider B2C2. It holds regulatory approvals in the UAE, EU and parts of Asia. The platform is Shariah-compliant, a key differentiator in MENA and Southeast Asia. It also teamed with Tether for a gold-backed Visa card. New capital will fund network expansion and AI transaction routing tools.
Fasset’s core innovation is hiding stablecoins behind familiar banking tools. Customers use standard cards and bank accounts. Stablecoins power the settlement layer behind the scenes, no direct crypto handling required. This avoids the consumer friction that has held back mass crypto adoption for years. SBI’s $68 million investment turns a regional play into a global one. The Japanese firm’s existing digital asset portfolio gives Fasset instant regulatory and network access across Asia and beyond. The end game here is straightforward. Fasset will eat into SWIFT’s dominance in cross-border SME and retail payments. Traditional banks will have no choice but to adapt or get left behind.
Author bio: Oliver Hawthorne, Principal Correspondent for a leading international technology review, covering fintech and decentralized payment infrastructure.