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Y Combinator, Startup Incubator Behind Airbnb, Coinbase, and Stripe, Looks to Invest in Stablecoin Finance

YC also said that the numbers behind stablecoin finance reflect "the opportunity seems much more immense still."

Updated Mar 8, 2024, 9:44 p.m. Published Feb 19, 2024, 8:52 a.m.
Golden gate bridge in San Francisco. (Nik Shuliahin/Unsplash)
Golden gate bridge in San Francisco. (Nik Shuliahin/Unsplash)
  • Silicon Valley incubator Y Combinator has included stablecoin finance in its new request for startups (RFS) list.
  • The list is a YC tradition going back to 2009, offering up ideas the incubator wants to see made real.

Y Combinator (YC), the Silicon Valley incubator, has listed stablecoin finance as a category in its new and updated list of areas it would like to deploy funds in, according to its request for startups (RFS) list released last week.

The RFS is a YC tradition, the blog said, one that goes back to 2009 offering up ideas the incubator wants to see made real. It helps startups understand which areas YC would like to invest in.

“We would like to fund great teams building B2B and consumer products on top of stablecoins, tools and platforms that enable stablecoin finance and more stablecoin protocols themselves,” wrote Brad Flora, a Group Partner at YC.

Citing PayPal’s (PYPL) move to issue its own stablecoin and how major banks have started offering custody services, Flora said their “utility is so straightforward it seems inevitable traditional finance will follow suit.”

YC compared the future of stablecoins to digital music, explaining how digital music emerged from outlawed file-sharing models.

YC said that although $136 billion worth of stablecoins have been issued to date, the opportunity in the sector is “much more immense still.” Despite the massive value of the tokens issued, only about seven million people have transacted with stablecoins, and there are only a handful ofmajor stablecoin issuers.

Read More: How to Get Into Seed Club, the ‘Y Combinator of Web3'

Amitoj Singh

Amitoj Singh is a CoinDesk reporter focusing on regulation and the politics shaping the future of finance. He also presents shows for CoinDesk TV on occasion. He has previously contributed to various news organizations such as CNN, Al Jazeera, Business Insider and SBS Australia. Previously, he was Principal Anchor and News Editor at NDTV (New Delhi Television Ltd.), the go-to news network for Indians globally. Amitoj owns a marginal amount of Bitcoin and Ether below CoinDesk's disclosure threshold of $1,000.

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