Why We Invested in Bastion: Transforming Enterprise Stablecoin Issuance
Stablecoins have quietly emerged as a crucial part of the financial infrastructure. In 2024, their supply grew by more than 50%, and settlement volumes reached into the trillions. For consumers in countries like Argentina, Brazil, and Indonesia, stablecoins provide reliable access to the U.S. dollar. For businesses, they enable faster and cheaper cross-border payments. Meanwhile, issuers benefit from billions in revenue generated by the reserves backing these stablecoins. Despite this rapid growth, enterprises seeking to issue or integrate stablecoins face significant challenges. Building secure custody systems is complex, licensing and compliance are fragmented, and navigating the regulatory environment can take years. This is precisely the problem Bastion was created to solve.
Bastion offers a comprehensive enterprise platform for custody, stablecoin issuance, and orchestration. The company holds a New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) Trust Charter, one of only a few granted in the United States. This regulatory approval allows Bastion to provide enterprises with everything they need to embed blockchain-based services seamlessly. Bastion’s custody architecture is designed to scale to tens of millions of users, leveraging the team’s experience from Anchorage and Facebook’s Libra/Diem project. Its regulatory licenses enable any enterprise to issue branded stablecoins while retaining the majority of the economic benefits. Additionally, Bastion’s orchestration layer integrates on/off ramps, currency conversions, compliance, and licensing, so customers do not need to secure these individually.
Why We Invested in Bastion: A Team and Platform Built for Scale and Compliance
The company is led by CEO and co-founder Nassim (Nass) Eddequiouaq, whose background includes Apple, Facebook, Anchorage, and a16z crypto. Nass has advised many leading crypto companies on security and is building Bastion as the comprehensive solution he wished had existed during his time at Facebook. He is supported by senior executives with deep expertise in legal, compliance, and product development, including veterans from a16z, Kraken, and the U.S. Department of Justice. This team is uniquely qualified to deliver both technical and regulatory-grade solutions tailored for the world’s largest enterprises.
We believe Bastion is well-positioned to become the leading independent stablecoin platform. As fintech companies and enterprises—from banks to consumer technology firms—seek compliant and scalable ways to use stablecoins, Bastion stands out as one of the few companies capable of delivering regulatory-grade solutions. For Samsung, this opportunity is highly relevant. Stablecoins align with our global presence in payments, remittance, and digital wallets. They offer utility to hundreds of millions of users through dollar-based savings, faster payments, and cross-border transfers. Bastion’s platform enables us to tap into this growing market with confidence.
The Enormous Opportunity in Stablecoins and Bastion’s Role
The stablecoin market has surpassed $250 billion in circulation, highlighting its central role in global finance. Tether, one of the largest stablecoin issuers, is seeking funding at a $500 billion valuation, underscoring the massive economic potential of this space. Bastion enables companies to issue their own stablecoins and capture the majority of the economic value that has made Tether one of the most valuable private companies. For platforms with large user bases, this capability could translate into substantial and recurring revenue streams.
Stablecoins are at a pivotal moment, and Bastion provides enterprises with the tools to participate directly in this transformative market. This is why we invested in Bastion. The company’s platform, leadership, and regulatory positioning make it uniquely suited to lead the next wave of stablecoin adoption among enterprises worldwide.
Sam Campbell is an investor at Samsung Next. Samsung Next’s investment strategy reflects its own views and does not represent the vision or strategy of any other Samsung business unit, including Samsung Electronics.
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