Pantera Says Stablecoins May Become Core Financial Infrastructure, Sees Growth in Non-Dollar Tokens

Uk Jin

Summary

Pantera said stablecoins could become a core part of next-generation financial infrastructure and that related infrastructure will continue to expand.
The firm said institutions are focusing on cross-border payment efficiency, treasury strategies using stablecoins that provide on-chain yield, and smart contract-based payment automation.
Pantera said that while most current trading is concentrated in dollar-based stablecoins, the market could create room for non-dollar stablecoins as it matures.

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*Nihal Munder, second from right, a partner at Pantera Capital, speaks at a press briefing on Populus’s fundraising in Seoul’s Gangnam district on April 27. Photo: Jin Wook/Bloomingbit*

Pantera Capital, a global crypto venture capital firm, said stablecoins — cryptocurrencies pegged to fiat currencies — could become a core part of the next generation of financial infrastructure.

On April 27, Nihal Munder, a partner at Pantera Capital, said at a panel discussion in Seoul’s Gangnam district that stablecoins can open opportunities traditional finance has failed to address. He added that the infrastructure supporting stablecoins will continue to expand.

Munder first highlighted the potential for cross-border payments. For institutions, the key issue is not whether they trust crypto as an asset class, but how efficient the payment rail is, he said. Using stablecoins, cross-border payments can be completed in less than a minute for under $1, he added.

He also described stablecoins as an attractive treasury tool for institutions. Beyond payments, they can help strengthen treasury strategy. For companies, holding cash that generates no return is inefficient, and more are placing escrow funds or excess cash into stablecoins that offer on-chain yield, he said.

Munder also cited programmability in on-chain finance as a key advantage. Stablecoins can automate payments through smart contracts, allowing companies to design financial structures that are difficult to build in traditional financial systems. That, he said, could further improve financial efficiency.

He said institutional adoption of stablecoins will continue to broaden. Traditional financial firms such as JPMorgan and Visa, along with fintech companies including Stripe and Robinhood, are all strategically adopting stablecoins, he said.

Munder also pointed to non-dollar stablecoins as a market opportunity. About 98% to 99% of stablecoin trading currently involves dollar-based tokens, he said. Given that more than half of SWIFT transactions are conducted in non-dollar currencies, non-dollar stablecoins could gain wider traction as the market matures.

The event was held to announce Populus’s Series A investment from Pantera Capital. In that funding round, Populus was valued at 30 billion won, or about $20.8 million.