Blockchain finance is moving closer to everyday use in East Africa as stablecoin settlement company Minisend expands its operations in Kenya, targeting cross-border payments, businesses and consumers rather than cryptocurrency speculation.
Connecting stablecoins with local money
Minisend has developed infrastructure allowing businesses and individuals to receive stablecoins including USDC and USDT across supported blockchain networks and settle those funds through local financial channels.
The model attempts to solve one of blockchain finance’s persistent problems: moving easily between digital assets and the money people actually use for everyday transactions.
Kenya provides a particularly interesting environment because digital payments are already deeply established. Rather than attempting to replace existing financial infrastructure, Minisend is positioning blockchain as another settlement layer behind it.
Africa becomes a testing ground
The company has also been named Official Payment Partner for the Africa Blockchain Festival 2026, which will take place in Nairobi from 15–17 October.
The event will bring together fintech, blockchain and payments companies as stablecoins increasingly enter discussions around remittances, international trade and cross-border settlement.
Stablecoins differ from volatile cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin because their value is normally linked to an established currency, most commonly the US dollar.
That makes them potentially useful as payment infrastructure rather than simply investment assets.
Blockchain without the speculation
The development reflects a broader change across emerging markets.
Blockchain is increasingly being explored as infrastructure operating behind financial services. A Kenyan company importing goods, for example, could potentially receive or transfer digital dollars over blockchain rails while converting funds through local financial systems at either end.
The attraction is particularly significant in markets where international transfers can involve multiple intermediaries, foreign-exchange costs and settlement delays.
Kenya looks towards its next payment layer
Kenya is simultaneously reviewing the future of its wider payments system. On 21 September, the Central Bank of Kenya and National Treasury published a draft National Payment System Policy and new National Payment System Bill aimed at improving interoperability, competition, financial inclusion and integration with regional and global payment systems.
Minisend’s expansion therefore arrives as Kenya considers the next generation of its financial infrastructure.
For blockchain, this may also indicate where the technology’s strongest emerging-market opportunity lies.
The future may be less about buying cryptocurrency — and more about blockchain becoming an invisible rail moving ordinary money between people, businesses and countries.
Newshub Editorial in Africa – 22 September 2026
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