Stablecoins Are Coming for Cross-Border Payments. Is Remitly a Winner or a Loser?

Leo Sun, The Motley Fool

Tue, June 2, 2026 astatine 5:25 AM CDT 3 min read

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are mostly pegged to the U.S. dollar. They're becoming a fashionable mode for radical successful countries with currency devaluation issues to sphere their savings without buying U.S. dollars, and for companies to settee cross-border transactions astatine faster, cheaper rates than accepted interbank transfers. Stablecoins tin besides beryllium staked (locked up) connected assorted exchanges to gain higher yields than those from accepted savings accounts.

In different words, apical stablecoins similar Tether (CRYPTO: USDT) and USD Coin (CRYPTO: USDC) could yet correspond an existential menace to banks and different fintech companies. One fintech institution that could beryllium wounded successful that seismic displacement is Remitly (NASDAQ: RELY), 1 of the fastest-growing autarkic remittance work providers successful the United States.

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Why could stablecoins disrupt Remitly?

From 2021 to 2025, Remitly's year-end progressive lawsuit basal accrued from 2.8 cardinal to 9.3 million, its nonstop measurement jumped from $20.4 cardinal to $74.9 billion, and its yearly gross soared from $459 cardinal to $1.64 billion. Its adjusted net earlier interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) besides turned affirmative successful 2023, and grew 34% to $135 cardinal successful 2024 and 29% to $272 cardinal successful 2025. It besides turned profitable for the archetypal clip successful 2025.

But implicit the past 5 years, Remitly's banal plunged much than 50%. After that pullback, its banal looks undervalued astatine little than 9 times this year's adjusted EBITDA. Remitly's banal is inexpensive due to the fact that investors are acrophobic that stablecoins could disrupt its halfway concern model.

Remitly generates astir of its gross by buying currencies astatine cheaper "interbank" rates and selling them to its customers astatine higher prices. It besides charges transaction fees. Its blended instrumentality complaint (foreign speech borderline positive transaction fees) is usually much than 2% per transaction.

By comparison, stablecoin-driven cross-border transfers are instant and outgo fractions of a cent. But for now, stablecoins don't person Remitly's "last mile" vantage done integrations with section outgo apps, carnal banks, and retail stores. So portion stablecoins are overmuch faster and cheaper for cross-border transfers, they're overmuch harder to withdraw.