Amit Chu, Partner, Verda Ventures

Today we're delighted to speak with Amit Chu, a Partner at Verda Ventures, the first fintech fund focused on stablecoin infrastructure. With a background spanning early-stage venture investing at Plug and Play Ventures and Correlation Ventures, and treasury work at the Celo Foundation, Amit brings a unique perspective on how stablecoins are transforming financial services in emerging markets. We discuss Verda's investment strategy, the portfolio companies they back, and why stablecoins are becoming a routine part of cross-border payments.

My questions are in bold - over to you Amit:

Who are you and what's your background?

I'm Amit Chu, a partner at Verda Ventures, where we invest in fintech companies building on stablecoin infrastructure. I studied economics at UC Davis and am a CFA charterholder.

My background is in institutional finance and early-stage investing, including several years at Plug and Play and Correlation Ventures. I later joined the Celo Foundation, where I became interested in how stablecoins could make financial services more accessible in emerging markets. Seeing how people used digital dollars for everyday needs changed how I thought about the technology. Alex Witt and I started Verda in 2024 to back founders building businesses around those uses.

What is your job title and what are your general responsibilities?

I'm a partner at Verda Ventures. I help shape our investment strategy and lead the work on individual investments, from getting to know founders and evaluating the business to building conviction and structuring terms. Our focus is on stablecoin infrastructure and financial services, particularly in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia.

A lot of my time goes toward working with portfolio founders on growth, fundraising and strategic partnerships. That can mean helping them think through a new market, introducing a potential customer or connecting them with the right investor. I also help build our LP relationships and develop our view of where the market is heading. Stablescape, our global map of the stablecoin ecosystem, is part of that research and currently covers over 6K companies.

Can you give us an overview of your business?

Verda Ventures is the first fintech fund focused on stablecoin infrastructure, investing at the intersection of traditional financial rails and stablecoin-native protocols. Through strategic partnerships with the world's largest stablecoin issuer and MiniPay - one of the fastest-growing stablecoin wallets in emerging markets - Verda helps portfolio companies accelerate product development, distribution, and revenue growth across remittances, payments, cash-in/cash-out infrastructure, identity, and stablecoin-based banking services. Anchor LPs include Tether (largest stablecoin issuer), Opera (Nasdaq: OPRA), and JUMP (largest crypto trading group).

Our portfolio includes companies such as El Dorado, Stables, YellowCard, Xweave, Capa, Lumx, Alfred Pay, WalaPay, DePay, Mural Pay, Fonbnk and Finity. We also built Stablescape to help people find and understand the companies building across the stablecoin ecosystem.

Tell us how you are funded?

Our capital comes from LPs, including strategic investors such as Opera and Tether, investment firms, family offices and individuals. We invest that capital in early-stage companies on their behalf.

When we started Verda in 2023, there was more skepticism about stablecoins as a basis for everyday financial services. Investors who knew these markets understood the need for better ways to hold dollars and move money. Those conversations have become easier as more companies have shown real customer demand.

What's the origin story? Why did you start the company? To solve what problems?

We started Verda because we saw how much domestic payments had improved, while moving money across borders remained slow and expensive. Systems like Pix in Brazil and M-Pesa in Kenya have transformed how people pay locally, but those improvements haven't always carried over to international payments.

At the same time, demand for digital dollars was growing, and founders were using stablecoins to solve practical problems in payments and savings. Many had strong products but struggled to reach customers, particularly in markets where local relationships and knowledge are essential.

We built Verda as a dedicated stablecoin investment platform to help close that gap. Alongside capital, we help founders find customers, build partnerships and expand into markets that can be difficult to navigate.

Who are your target customers? What's your revenue model?

We work with two groups: the founders we back and the LPs whose capital we manage. Like most venture funds, we earn on the performance of our fund.

We look for early-stage teams with strong local knowledge and evidence that customers need what they're building. Our investments span payments, foreign exchange, savings and the infrastructure behind those services. DePay is one example: it helps businesses connect to local payment systems across Latin America through a single integration.

Stablescape is free for companies to list on and claim their profiles.

If you had a magic wand, what one thing would you change in the banking and/or FinTech sector?

I'd make it easier for legitimate businesses in emerging markets to access dollar banking and cross-border payments. Too often, a business faces high costs or limited access because of where it operates, even when it has customers and a sound business.

Stablecoins can help, but people still need reliable ways to move between digital dollars and local currency. I'd like banks and regulators to make more room for those services, with clear standards that responsible companies can meet.

What is your message for the larger players in the Financial Services marketplace?

Take the customer demand seriously. Businesses using stablecoins are often trying to solve a straightforward problem: paying a supplier faster, receiving money from abroad or holding dollars. If the service is cheaper and more reliable, they'll use it.

Banks have a valuable role to play through custody, compliance and connections to local payment systems. There's an opportunity to work with the companies building these services and make them available to more customers.

I'd start by spending time with the businesses already using stablecoins in your key markets. Their experience will tell you a lot about what your own customers may ask for next.

Where do you get your Financial Services/FinTech industry news from?

A lot comes from X, particularly founders and operators sharing what they're seeing in their markets. I also learn a great deal from conversations with our portfolio companies and their investor updates. Those give me a closer view of how customer behavior is changing and where businesses are running into problems.

Can you list 3 people you rate from the FinTech and/or Financial Services sector that we should be following on LinkedIn, and why?

Alex Witt, my partner at Verda Ventures. He writes thoughtfully about stablecoins, dollar adoption and what they mean for financial services in emerging markets.

Simon Taylor, author of Fintech Brain Food. He makes developments in banking, payments and stablecoins easy to follow without oversimplifying them.

Chuk Okpalugo, He brings a practical perspective on stablecoins and payments, with a good sense of where the technology is useful and what it takes to build a business around it.

What FinTech services (and/or apps) do you personally use?

MiniPay, Tether Wallet, Robinhood, Coinbase, Venmo, Wise, Airwallex

What's the best new FinTech product or service you've seen recently?

I'd highlight the MiniPay Card. It lets eligible users spend their stablecoin balances wherever Visa is accepted, with merchants receiving local currency. What stands out is how straightforward it makes everyday spending. People can use their digital dollars for purchases without the merchant needing to handle stablecoins.

Finally, let's talk predictions. What trends do you think are going to define the next few years in the FinTech sector?

I think stablecoins will become a more routine part of financial services. Customers will choose a payment product because it works well, and may not know or care that it uses stablecoins to settle the transaction.

I also expect better connections between domestic payment systems. Stablecoins can help bridge those systems, but the companies that succeed will still need strong local banking relationships, regulatory knowledge and reliable ways to pay out in local currency. That's a big part of where we invest.

AI agents are another area I'm watching. If software starts making more payments on our behalf, it will need payment systems that are easy to integrate and available around the clock. Stablecoins could be a good fit, although it's still early to know which applications will see meaningful adoption.

Many thanks to Amit for taking the time to share his insights with FinTech Profile. You can learn more about Verda Ventures on their website.