Fin: A New Vision for Cross-Border Payments Built on Stablecoins

From Side Project to Startup: The Origin of Fin

While working at Citadel, Ian Krotinsky and Aashiq Dheeraj frequently built small projects in their spare time. One of these experiments—a Reddit-style platform that awarded $50 to posts reaching the homepage—unexpectedly revealed a major issue: sending money quickly and affordably to users around the world was far more difficult than it should be.

(Image source: FIN)

This frustration eventually led the pair to explore new payment models, ultimately becoming the foundation of what is now Fin.

A $17 Million Debut Backed by Leading Investors

Formerly operating under the name TipLink, the company announced a $17 million funding round led by Pantera Capital, with additional participation from Sequoia and Samsung Next. While the valuation remains undisclosed, CEO Ian Krotinsky describes Fin as a “payment application built for the future,” designed to harness stablecoin infrastructure while shielding users from the complexity of crypto technology.

Product Philosophy: A Simple Interface With Three Core Capabilities

Fin’s product is centered around ease of use, offering a streamlined experience through three main functions:

• Transfers between Fin users
• Linking to and from traditional bank accounts
• Connecting to cryptocurrency wallets

By routing these actions through stablecoin networks, Fin dramatically reduces settlement costs and speeds up transfers compared with traditional banking rails.

Built for High-Value Transfers, Not Everyday Micro-Payments

Fin is specifically engineered for large, time-sensitive transactions, including:

• Cross-border payments ranging from tens of thousands to millions of dollars
• Domestic high-value transfers requiring immediate settlement

For instance, if a Swiss watchmaker sells a luxury timepiece to a U.S. buyer, a traditional wire transfer might take days and incur significant fees. Fin aims to replace this with near-instant, lower-cost settlement.

In the U.S. market, services like Venmo and Zelle cap transaction limits, making them unsuitable for transfers above $100,000—a gap Fin intends to fill.

Business Model: Fees and Stablecoin Yield

Fin’s early rollout focuses on collaborating with import–export and trading companies as initial pilot partners.

Revenue will come from two primary sources:

• Transaction fees priced below typical bank wire costs
• Interest earned on stablecoin balances held within Fin wallets

A Market Ready for Stablecoin Adoption

Fin’s launch aligns with a broader shift toward stablecoin acceptance across the financial industry. Following President Trump’s signing of the Genius Act in July, which established a regulatory framework for stablecoins, traditional institutions such as Western Union and Mastercard have accelerated their investment in stablecoin-based solutions.

Competitive Landscape: Fin Takes Aim at Traditional Banks

According to Krotinsky, Fin’s competition isn’t consumer payment apps—it’s the global banking giants that have dominated international wire transfers for decades. He points to institutions like JPMorgan Chase and Barclays as the real incumbents.

These firms rely on legacy systems that are difficult to rebuild from scratch, giving Fin an advantage in adopting stablecoin-native infrastructure from day one.

Conclusion

Krotinsky believes Fin has the potential to become one of the world’s most important payment applications. With high-value cross-border transfers serving as its entry point, Fin aims to redefine how money moves internationally. As stablecoins reshape the competitive landscape, Fin positions itself at the forefront of the next generation of global payments.