Nigerian fintech startup Daya has raised $2.4mn in a pre-seed funding round to expand its stablecoin-powered cross-border payments platform, underscoring growing investor interest in blockchain-based payment infrastructure serving African businesses.

The funding round was led by New York-based digital asset investment firm Hivemind Capital and included participation from Lattice Fund, Alliance DAO, Aptos Foundation and Singapore-based Globelink Investment. The company said the round was oversubscribed.

Founded in October 2025 by Tomiwa "Aleph" Lasebikan and Paul Joe, Daya develops payment infrastructure that enables businesses to receive dollar payments, settle transactions using stablecoins and transfer funds internationally through regulated banking partners combined with blockchain-based settlement technology.

"The round was oversubscribed," co-founder Tomiwa "Aleph" Lasebikan told TechCabal. "Right now, we're heads down focused on building and shipping for our users and delivering on the promises we made to our investors and early backers."

The investment comes seven months after Daya graduated from Alliance DAO's ALL15 accelerator programme and places the startup alongside a growing group of African fintech companies, including Yellow Card and Juicyway, seeking to use stablecoins as an alternative settlement rail for business payments.

On June 23, Yellow Card said it has secured regulatory approval in Switzerland via membership in a Swiss self-regulatory organisation, giving the African stablecoin payments company a foothold in among the world’s most respected financial jurisdictions, Techpoint Africa reports.

Commenting on Daya's announcement, the outlet writes: 

"What makes the raise noteworthy is what it says about where fintech investors are placing their bets. For years, African startups focused on wallets, merchant payments, and consumer banking. Now, attention is increasingly shifting toward infrastructure that helps businesses move money internationally."

Unlike consumer-focused remittance platforms, Daya concentrates on business treasury management and cross-border settlement infrastructure, allowing companies to manage international payments, liquidity and foreign exchange through a single platform.

Nigeria leads Africa's stablecoin adoption

Nigeria is widely regarded as Africa's largest stablecoin market. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the country received about $59bn in crypto-asset inflows between July 2023 and June 2024, ranked second globally in blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis' 2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index and sixth in 2025, while accounting for roughly 60% of all stablecoin inflows into sub-Saharan Africa since 2019.

The fundraising reflects broader investor confidence in stablecoin-based financial services as the technology expands beyond cryptocurrency trading into commercial payments, treasury management and international trade. According to Chainalysis, stablecoins settled approximately $28trillion in transaction value globally during 2025, with a growing share linked to payments, remittances and other real-economy use cases.

Stablecoins move into mainstream finance

The global stablecoin market is dominated by a handful of US dollar-pegged digital assets. Tether's USDT is the largest, with a market capitalisation of around $150bn, followed by Circle's USDC at more than $60bn. Other major stablecoins include Ethena's USDe, Sky's USDS (formerly DAI) and First Digital USD (FDUSD).

Unlike more volatile cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ether, stablecoins are designed to maintain a fixed value, typically by being backed by reserves of cash and short-term government securities or supported by other stabilisation mechanisms. Their relative price stability has made them increasingly popular for international settlements, remittances, treasury management and foreign exchange transactions.

Regulatory landscape continues to evolve

Although Nigeria is the continent's largest market for stablecoin adoption, regulatory uncertainty surrounding digital assets remains. Businesses and consumers increasingly use US dollar-pegged stablecoins such as USDT and USDC to hedge against foreign exchange volatility, access dollar liquidity and reduce delays associated with conventional correspondent banking. According to the IMF, the sharp depreciation of the naira, high inflation and constrained access to foreign exchange during 2023 and 2024 accelerated demand for stablecoins as both a hedge against currency risk and a means of paying overseas suppliers.

Nigeria's digital asset market has nevertheless continued to expand alongside the development of a regulatory framework for virtual asset service providers overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The framework is intended to bring cryptocurrency exchanges and other digital asset businesses within a formal licensing regime, although the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continues to take a cautious approach towards the sector.

Stablecoin activity has also grown rapidly in markets including Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Egypt, where businesses increasingly use digital dollar assets for international trade, remittances and business-to-business transactions, particularly in markets facing foreign currency shortages or costly payment channels. Industry participants argue that blockchain settlement can reduce transaction costs, shorten settlement times from days to minutes and improve access to dollar-denominated liquidity for importers and exporters. The trend has attracted growing investment into African fintech companies building stablecoin infrastructure, while regulators in countries including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Mauritius continue developing frameworks governing digital assets, licensing and consumer protection.

Building an African payments network

For African businesses, stablecoin infrastructure offers an alternative to traditional correspondent banking networks and the SWIFT messaging system, where transactions can take several days to settle and involve multiple intermediary banks, increasing both costs and foreign exchange spreads. Blockchain-based settlement enables near real-time transfers while reducing reliance on correspondent banking relationships, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises trading across borders.

Daya's platform enables companies to receive funds through US dollar-denominated bank accounts provided by regulated partners, settle transactions in stablecoins, hold digital balances, make international payments or convert proceeds into local currencies.

Daya has also expanded its strategic partnerships. In June, the company joined Aptos Foundation and Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange HashKey MENA to launch a pilot stablecoin settlement corridor linking businesses in Africa and the Middle East. The initiative allows companies to settle transactions using stablecoins while receiving and disbursing funds in local currencies.

Businesses using the platform can access virtual US dollar, Hong Kong dollar and Chinese yuan accounts, convert local currencies into dollar liquidity, hold treasury balances in stablecoins and manage international payments through a single platform.

Lasebikan said Daya has recorded growth of more than 40% month-on-month during 2026 as businesses increasingly adopt the platform for treasury management and international settlements, although he did not disclose customer numbers.

"We're focused on iterating with our products and continuing to learn," Lasebikan told TechCabal. "We already partner with a core group of businesses and are helping them simplify their cross-border payments and treasury processes. The pre-seed enables us to learn faster and serve our users more broadly."

Investors back infrastructure over consumer crypto

Investors say many African businesses continue to rely on fragmented payment infrastructure when conducting international commerce. "Many teams still stitch together local banks, domiciliary accounts, FX desks, OTC relationships, crypto ramps, payment processors, spreadsheets, and manual approval flows," Lattice Fund said in a June 24 statement announcing the investment. "The result is delayed settlement, opaque FX, trapped working capital, compliance drag, and limited visibility into where money is at any point in the transaction lifecycle."

Rather than targeting retail cryptocurrency trading, investors are increasingly backing infrastructure providers that simplify cross-border commerce for businesses. The focus has shifted towards platforms that integrate regulated banking services with blockchain settlement, enabling companies to manage payments, liquidity and treasury functions more efficiently while remaining compliant with financial regulations.

Daya said it will use the proceeds to expand its payment corridors, strengthen compliance capabilities and deepen partnerships with local and international financial institutions as it seeks to build what it describes as a financial operating layer for African businesses moving money across borders.