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Fasset, a Dubai-based stablecoin neobanking platform, has closed a $68 million Series C round led by Japan’s SBI Group, valuing the company at $1 billion and making it one of the newer names on the list of UAE unicorn startups, the company announced on 24 August 2026. The round is Fasset’s second in 2026, following a $51 million Series B in May, bringing its total raised this year to $119 million.
What the round covers
| Detail | Description |
|---|---|
| Amount raised | $68 million, Series C |
| Valuation | $1 billion |
| Lead investor | SBI Group (Japan) |
| Prior round | $51 million Series B, May 2026 (investors included Speedinvest) |
| 2026 total raised | $119 million |
| What it’s for | Expanding Own Network (Fasset’s regulated cross-border settlement infrastructure) and agentic AI systems for corridor banking, stablecoin settlement and tokenised-asset infrastructure |
| Scale | $40 billion+ annualized transaction volume, 3 million+ wallets, 1,000+ enterprise clients, 125 countries, 100+ banking corridors |
| UAE regulatory status | VARA-licensed Virtual Asset Service Provider (Broker-Dealer Services, licence VL/23/07/002, issued 30 November 2023), serving institutional, qualified and retail investors |
“The banking system is broken,” said Mohammad Raafi Hossain, Fasset’s co-founder and chief executive. “It’s not enough to build another financial front on current rails. The next phase is about any-to-any banking: any person to any person, any asset to any asset, any rail to any rail, anywhere.”
Yoshitaka Kitao, chairman and chief executive of SBI Holdings, framed the investment as a way for Fasset to act as “a financial bridge connecting Japan with high-growth markets.”
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The UAE base behind the unicorn number
Fasset was founded in Los Angeles in 2019, but it operates as a regulated entity out of the UAE, where VARA’s own public register lists Fasset FZE as holding an active Broker-Dealer Services licence since November 2023, nearly three years of onshore Dubai regulatory standing before this round. That timeline matters for a company now describing itself as a stablecoin neobank: it built its UAE licence years before the current stablecoin funding wave, rather than chasing a licence to catch it.
The company’s SBI tie now extends beyond capital. SBI Group holds stakes in Ripple, Circle, Morpho and B2C2, and its remittance arm, SBI Remit, reaches roughly 200 countries, a network Fasset’s own cross-border settlement pitch is built to plug into.
Why It Matters
For the UAE’s crypto and fintech sector
Fasset becomes one of the more visible fintech unicorns to emerge from the UAE’s virtual-asset regulatory framework specifically, rather than from a general fintech licence. A VARA-licensed platform reaching a $1 billion valuation on the back of a Japanese conglomerate’s capital is a concrete data point for the UAE’s pitch that its crypto rulebook, built out through 2025, is now attracting large-scale institutional money rather than only early-stage funds.
For businesses moving money across borders
Fasset’s own metrics, $40 billion in annualised transaction volume across 100+ corridors and 1,000+ enterprise clients, are company-reported and not independently audited. If they hold, the round funds infrastructure aimed squarely at businesses and payment providers that need to settle across multiple currencies and jurisdictions without relying on traditional correspondent banking.
What’s Next
Fasset hasn’t disclosed a post-money cap table, so the exact ownership split after SBI’s lead investment isn’t public. Watch for how much of the $119 million raised in 2026 actually lands in new corridors versus AI infrastructure spend, and whether SBI’s remittance network with SBI Remit turns into a named, live integration rather than a framing line in the announcement.
FAQs
What does Fasset actually do?
Fasset is a stablecoin-based neobanking platform that connects banks, telecom operators, payment firms and liquidity providers across more than 100 corridors, aimed at cross-border settlement, corridor banking and tokenized-asset infrastructure.
What is a unicorn startup?
A unicorn is a privately held startup valued at $1 billion or more. Fasset reached that mark with its August 2026 Series C round.
Is Fasset licensed to operate in the UAE?
Yes. Fasset FZE holds an active Virtual Asset Service Provider licence from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) for Broker-Dealer Services, issued 30 November 2023, and can serve institutional, qualified and retail investors.
Who led Fasset’s Series C round?
Japan’s SBI Group led the $68 million round, which also builds on Fasset’s existing regulatory presence across the UAE, Indonesia, Malaysia, the EU, Turkey and Pakistan.
How much has Fasset raised in total?
Fasset raised $119 million across two rounds in 2026 alone (a $51 million Series B in May and this $68 million Series C), with cumulative funding reported at more than $150 million since its 2019 founding.
Editor’s Take: A $1 billion valuation on a VARA licence that’s been live since 2023 is a different story than a fresh entrant chasing the current stablecoin wave, and that timeline is worth taking seriously. Fasset hasn’t broken that number down. SBI’s own stakes in Ripple, Circle and B2C2 make this look less like a one-off cheque and more like a bet on Fasset as distribution into markets SBI already has exposure to. Whether that translates into named integrations, not just framing language about Japan and high-growth markets, is the thing to watch.