THE SHIFT
The 20-year fintech cycle is over. The infrastructure is finally changing.
For two decades, fintech innovated on distribution — better apps, better UX, embedded APIs — but never changed the actual plumbing underneath. Every neobank still runs on the same ACH rails, the same SWIFT network, the same five sponsor banks, the same card networks that existed in 2000.
Better distribution has a limit. It doesn't make the core product faster, cheaper, or more flexible. A payment that takes 3 days still takes 3 days — no matter how good the app looks.
Digital dollars change this. For the first time, the core infrastructure itself — custody, settlement, compliance, lending — is being replaced by open, programmable systems. Anyone can have a digital bank account. Cross-border settlement is instant. The cost of transactions and access to financial services approaches zero. The cost of launching a financial service drops from millions to thousands.
$317B
Digital dollar market capitalization
$33T
Settled in 2025 — more than Visa and Mastercard combined
72%
Year-over-year growth
"Stablecoins are room-temperature superconductors for financial services." — Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe
THE PROBLEM
The new infrastructure exists in the US and Europe. It doesn't exist where it's needed most.
The companies building this financial infrastructure — Bridge (acquired by Stripe), BVNK (acquired by Mastercard) — are licensed in the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union. Their coverage stops where demand is highest.
Non-western demand is already enormous — and growing fastest.
1.4B
Adults without access to banking services [1]
$680B+
Annual remittances to developing countries [2]
$48B
Lost to transfer fees every year [2]
Stablecoins are already being adopted across these markets — but as the grey, unregulated solution that do not interact with the local system.
~80%
of all crypto volume in Sub-Saharan Africa is stablecoins [3]
71%
of stablecoin usage in Latin America is cross-border payments [4]
40%+
Annual growth in stablecoin adoption across Africa and LatAm [4]
These markets have the mobile payment systems. They have the demand. What they don't have is the licensed, regulated infrastructure that connects their local financial systems to the new global digital economy.
That is what Flow builds.
[1] World Bank, Global Findex Database 2021 (1.4B unbanked figure)
[2] World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide, Q4 2025 ($680B remittances; 6.2% avg fee = ~$48B)
[3] TRM Labs, 2025 Crypto Adoption and Stablecoin Usage Report (~80% Sub-Saharan Africa stablecoin share)
[4] Fireblocks, State of Stablecoins Report (71% LatAm cross-border usage; 40%+ annual growth)
[2] World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide, Q4 2025 ($680B remittances; 6.2% avg fee = ~$48B)
[3] TRM Labs, 2025 Crypto Adoption and Stablecoin Usage Report (~80% Sub-Saharan Africa stablecoin share)
[4] Fireblocks, State of Stablecoins Report (71% LatAm cross-border usage; 40%+ annual growth)
THE SOLUTION
Flow builds licensed financial infrastructure for emerging markets.
Flow connects local payment systems to global digital dollars. We provide the regulated bridge between a country's domestic financial system and the new digital economy — so that money can move in and out instantly, at a fraction of today's cost.
What we handle:
- Virtual asset licensing & regulatory approval — we obtain the required VASP, EMI, PSP, and money transmitter licenses in every country we operate in. We do not operate without permission.
- Banking relationships & local payment rail integration — we partner with local banks and connect to the payment systems people already use: M-Pesa, UPI, PIX, BenefitPay, QRIS, and dozens more.
- Stablecoin & blockchain integrations — we support multiple digital dollar formats (USDC, USDT, USDe) across major blockchain networks, enabling seamless conversion and settlement.
- Compliance infrastructure — KYC, AML, sanctions screening, and reporting to local financial intelligence units, built to each country's specific requirements.
What this enables:
- A worker abroad sends money home in seconds instead of days, at a fraction of the cost
- A business receives international payments directly into their local bank account
- Fintechs build new financial products for their citizens on modern infrastructure
- Countries position themselves as digital finance hubs, attracting investment and creating jobs
Flow is not a consumer application. We are infrastructure — the plumbing that financial institutions, fintechs, and businesses build on top of.
HOW IT WORKS
Simple, regulated, integrated with the payment systems people already use.
Local Currency
NGN, KES, ARS, BHD, ZAR, IDR
Local Payment Rail
M-Pesa, UPI, PIX, BenefitPay, NPS, QRIS
Flow
Licensed · Regulated · Audited · Compliant
Digital Dollars
USDC, USDT, USDe
Global Financial System
Every transaction flows through the regulated banking system. Every user is verified. Every operation is reported to local authorities. Flow is designed to work with regulators, not around them.
Flow provides:
WHY FLOW
Three advantages that cannot be replicated.
Government relationships and licensing as identity
Flow's leadership has direct, personal relationships with heads of state, central bank governors, and finance ministers across Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia.
We will only operate where we are licensed. We will apply for every required license, register with every financial intelligence unit, and comply with every local regulation. This makes us the partner that regulators want to work with — and the only infrastructure that institutional clients trust.
We will only operate where we are licensed. We will apply for every required license, register with every financial intelligence unit, and comply with every local regulation. This makes us the partner that regulators want to work with — and the only infrastructure that institutional clients trust.
Unmatched stablecoin and DeFi expertise
Flow's founders have built and scaled the infrastructure that underpins the digital dollar economy. Guy founded Ethena Labs and grew USDe from zero to $14B+ TVL in under two years — one of the fastest-growing stablecoin protocols ever — with partnerships with BlackRock and major institutions. Kevin grew institutional digital asset business at several multi-billion dollar franchises and was deeply involved in building some of the largest businesses in digital assets.
Banking access — the real barrier
The number one reason digital finance companies fail is losing banking access. Banks are risk-averse. They have shut down companies overnight. Flow solves this through government-level relationships that de-risk banking partnerships. When a central bank is comfortable, commercial banks follow. We target a minimum of three banking partners per jurisdiction for redundancy.
Other companies build technology and hope to get licensed. Flow gets licensed and builds technology on a foundation of regulatory trust.
TEAM
Institutional finance. Protocol engineering. Government access.
Lars Windhorst
Government-level relationships spanning Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. Direct, personal access to heads of state, central bank governors, and finance ministers. Lars's introductions to regulators and banking leadership compress licensing and banking timelines from years to months. A large-scale investor and strategic partner across emerging markets with decades of operating history.
Guy Young
Founded Ethena Labs in 2023 and built USDe — a synthetic digital dollar — from zero to $14B+ in total value locked in under two years, generating $500M+ in cumulative protocol revenue. Ethena has established partnerships with BlackRock and major traditional financial institutions, bridging the gap between decentralized finance and the institutional world. 10 years in traditional finance, including 6 years at Cerberus Capital Management (distressed private equity).
Kevin Hu
Part of the first digital asset research initiative at BlackRock in 2016. Ex-General Partner at Dragonfly Capital, helped to grow AUM from $100M to $3B AUM. Ex-CIO of Nova Fund at Brevan Howard Digital. Currently, Co-founder of Nova Digital, an independent digital asset fund with a VARA license in Dubai.
Early investor and advisor in many of the largest Decentralized Finance and centralized Financial infrastructure companies.
Early investor and advisor in many of the largest Decentralized Finance and centralized Financial infrastructure companies.