The insider: VC backers of early-stage ventures like dtcpay aim to capitalize on the growth of stablecoins

*This article is adapted from * Preqin First Close

Stablecoins are moving beyond their origins in crypto markets and into the plumbing of the global financial system. Originally developed to reduce the volatility of digital tokens by pegging them to fiat currencies, stablecoins have historically been used within Web3 ecosystems – particularly for crypto trading. But the boundary is shifting. 

The aggregate market capitalization of stablecoins reached about $300bn last year, according to an International Monetary Fund paper, as the basis of a new form of payments infrastructure. The question for investors is whether this existing infrastructure can translate into real-world use cases at scale. 

Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India is among the early-stage investors positioning themselves for that shift. Anchored by Vertex Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek, it recently led a $10mn series A funding round for dtcpay, a stablecoin payments platform.

Liu Genping, General Partner, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, tells Preqin First Close: ‘dtcpay has built strong commercial traction, starting in Web3, and already penetrating real-world payment use cases’. The new capital will help the company enhance its product suite, strengthen infrastructure, and expand its operational presence. 

Singapore, where dtcpay is headquartered, is positioning itself as a hub for stablecoin innovation. The city-state’s early move to establish a regulatory framework and use of stablecoins in real-world transactions has helped attract companies building in this space.

dtcpay enables cross-border flows across specific trade corridors where traditional payment systems remain fragmented, slow, or costly. This can allow for faster settlement, lower transaction costs, and greater transparency, explains Genping. 

Southeast Asia presents an opportunity in this context, given its fragmented financial landscape, multiple currencies, and rising cross-border trade driven by ‘China Plus One’ supply-chain shifts. 

While firms like dtcpay aim to enable everyday use of stablecoins, not just in Southeast Asia but globally, two things will be crucial in the next phase of growth for stablecoins, according to Genping. 

The first is regulatory alignment. Stablecoins are now intersecting more directly with the traditional financial system, and compliance frameworks are still developing across jurisdictions. Regulatory clarity will likely be key for global adoption. 

The second is infrastructure. Today, stablecoin networks and traditional fiat payment rails largely run in parallel. Over time, Genping expects them to converge, but this will require significant development to ensure seamless connectivity. He says the long-term objective is a system in which users can move funds across digital and fiat networks with minimal friction. 

For private capital investors, stablecoins sit at the intersection of several structural trends: digital assets; payments innovation; and the reconfiguration of global trade. The ecosystem is nascent, and therefore subject to technological and regulatory uncertainty. But as adoption moves beyond Web3 into the broader economy, the path to scalable applications could become clearer. 

Article by Harsha Narayan, Senior Writer at Preqin.

For the latest news on Vertex Ventures SE Asia and India and our portfolio companies, follow us on Linkedin or subscribe to our monthly newsletter.