Key Takeaways
- • Paradigm leads a $9 million seed funding round for Standard Economics, a stablecoin payments platform focused on cross-border remittances in Latin America and Asia, with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners and angel investors.
- • Standard Economics operates the Uno platform, which launched in Mexico in October 2025 and enables users to send and receive U.S. dollars via stablecoins at lower costs and faster speeds than traditional remittance services, with expansion planned for Argentina, the Philippines, and additional markets.
- • The funding targets regions with high stablecoin adoption and banking infrastructure gaps, particularly Latin America where stablecoins dominate 90% of crypto transactions and cross-border remittances represent up to 20% of GDP in select countries like El Salvador.
- • The company is pre-revenue with a six-member team and will deploy capital toward Uno app development, user acquisition, and market expansion across underbanked Latin American and Asian populations.
- • Latin America's crypto market grew 63% year-over-year in 2025, driven by economic instability and regulatory clarity, creating favorable conditions for stablecoin-based financial services.
Summary
Standard Economics, a stablecoin payments startup, has secured $9 million in seed-stage financing led by prominent crypto venture capital firm Paradigm. Lightspeed Venture Partners and multiple angel investors participated in the round. The capital will accelerate development and geographic expansion of Uno, the company's cross-border remittance platform designed to serve underbanked populations in Latin America and Asia.
The Uno platform launched in Mexico in October 2025 and enables users to send and receive U.S. dollars through stablecoin transactions, offering materially lower fees and faster settlement compared to incumbent remittance networks. Co-founder and CEO Evan Jones positioned the platform as an integrated financial services solution, combining domestic payments, international money transfers, and banking functionality within a single application. The company plans to expand into Argentina, the Philippines, and additional emerging markets where stablecoin adoption and cross-border remittance flows are substantial.
The investment thesis reflects structural tailwinds in Latin America's crypto ecosystem. Stablecoins account for approximately 90% of cryptocurrency transaction volume in the region, and cross-border remittances represent between 20% and 30% of GDP in select countries including El Salvador. Latin America's broader crypto market expanded 63% year-over-year in 2025, driven by macroeconomic pressures, currency instability, and incremental regulatory clarity. These conditions create addressable demand for efficient, low-cost alternatives to traditional banking and money transfer channels.
Standard Economics remains pre-revenue with a lean six-member team and an undisclosed valuation. The funding deployment will focus on scaling the Uno application, expanding user acquisition in target markets, and strengthening the platform's payment rails and liquidity infrastructure to support higher transaction volumes across the Latin American and Asian corridors.
The Uno platform launched in Mexico in October 2025 and enables users to send and receive U.S. dollars through stablecoin transactions, offering materially lower fees and faster settlement compared to incumbent remittance networks. Co-founder and CEO Evan Jones positioned the platform as an integrated financial services solution, combining domestic payments, international money transfers, and banking functionality within a single application. The company plans to expand into Argentina, the Philippines, and additional emerging markets where stablecoin adoption and cross-border remittance flows are substantial.
The investment thesis reflects structural tailwinds in Latin America's crypto ecosystem. Stablecoins account for approximately 90% of cryptocurrency transaction volume in the region, and cross-border remittances represent between 20% and 30% of GDP in select countries including El Salvador. Latin America's broader crypto market expanded 63% year-over-year in 2025, driven by macroeconomic pressures, currency instability, and incremental regulatory clarity. These conditions create addressable demand for efficient, low-cost alternatives to traditional banking and money transfer channels.
Standard Economics remains pre-revenue with a lean six-member team and an undisclosed valuation. The funding deployment will focus on scaling the Uno application, expanding user acquisition in target markets, and strengthening the platform's payment rails and liquidity infrastructure to support higher transaction volumes across the Latin American and Asian corridors.
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