Standard Economics Aims to Be 'Starlink for Money' with $9M Seed Round

Stablecoin Payment Startup Standard Economics Secures $9M Seed Round to Tackle Global Remittances

Standard Economics, a cross-border payments startup co-founded by former SpaceX and X employees, has raised $9 million in seed funding led by crypto venture firm Paradigm, with participation from Lightspeed and strategic angel investors, according to a Fortune report. The company aims to disrupt traditional remittance systems by leveraging stablecoins—cryptocurrencies pegged to the U.S. dollar—to provide low-cost, fast international money transfers.

CEO Evan Jones, who previously worked at X and xAI, founded the startup after grappling with the inefficiencies of cross-border payments while trying to send money to his parents in rural Ireland. "Our product is built to work globally and designed for people traditional finance overlooks," Jones said, emphasizing the goal of making U.S. dollars accessible to the unbanked, Fortune reported. The company's debut app, Uno, launched in Mexico, offers free cross-border payments and internal transfers, with plans to expand to Argentina, the Philippines, and other Latin American and Asian markets, the Fortune article noted.

The funding round arrives amid a surge in stablecoin adoption. A Bloomberg report citing blockchain analytics firm Artemis revealed that stablecoin payments for real-world transactions grew 70% since February 2025, reaching $10.2 billion monthly. This growth has been accelerated by the U.S. Genius Act, which established federal regulations requiring stablecoin issuers to back tokens with liquid assets like Treasury bills. The law has bolstered confidence in the sector, with business-to-business (B2B) transfers now accounting for 67% of stablecoin volume, surpassing peer-to-peer transactions for the first time.

Despite this progress, challenges persist. Artemis data highlights that stablecoin fees—particularly on exchanges and during conversions—often rival or exceed traditional finance costs. For instance, Ethereum network congestion recently drove fees above $1,000 for small transactions, underscoring scalability issues. Standard Economics aims to address these pain points by integrating stablecoins into its platform, which promises seamless, fee-free transfers.

Traditional financial players are also taking notice. U.S. payments network Zelle, operated by Early Warning Services, is exploring stablecoin technology for international expansion, aiming to replicate its domestic success in cross-border remittances. Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan recently launched a national stablecoin on the BNB Chain, partnering with Binance to facilitate government payments. These developments signal growing acceptance of stablecoins as a viable alternative to legacy systems.

Standard Economics, which currently employs six people and has no revenue, plans to use the seed funding to scale its app and expand its team. Co-founders include Payam Abedi (CTO, former X employee) and Tyler Carnevale (COO, former SpaceX/X special projects lead), the Fortune article said. The startup's vision aligns with broader trends: as Artemis co-founder Anthony Yim noted, stablecoins are evolving from niche trading tools to mainstream payment methods, with major firms like Visa and PayPal integrating them.

With global remittances projected to reach $122 billion annually through stablecoins, Standard Economics is positioning itself at the intersection of crypto innovation and financial inclusion. As Paradigm partner Caitlin Pintavorn remarked, the company's goal is to "bring about Starlink for money"—a unified solution for the developing world's unmet banking needs, the Fortune piece added.

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