Olá pessoal!
For week’s podcast I caught up with Arnold Lee, co-founder CEO of Sphere Labs, on a recent trip to Sao Paulo. We discuss how Sphere has found product market fit using stablecoins for cross-border payments, and why Latin America is positioned as a critical region for stablecoin adoption in 2025.
Arnold explains Sphere's core offerings: SpherePay, a cross-border payments API utilizing the "stablecoin sandwich" method, and SphereNet, an account ledger built on the Solana virtual machine designed for financial institutions.
The stablecoin sandwich approach converts local currency to a stablecoin (typically USD-based) before converting to the destination currency, providing better liquidity and rates than direct currency pairs might offer.
Key Takeaways:
Stablecoin Infrastructure: Sphere has built what they believe is the world's fastest on/off-ramp for cross-border payments without taking credit risk, processing billions of dollars annually.
Emerging Markets Focus: The company specifically targets emerging markets where traditional financial access is limited, with Latin America being particularly important for adoption.
Beyond Efficiency: Arnold frames stablecoins not just as efficiency plays but as opportunity enablers that can unlock structural "deadweight loss" by allowing entrepreneurs in smaller countries to access global markets without relocation.
B2B Emphasis: Sphere primarily serves B2B clients including import/export businesses (across metals, fabrics, oil, raw materials) and fintechs managing treasury operations.
Growth Trajectory: Sphere has scaled its team from 7 to 28 people and from processing millions to billions in transaction volume in a short timeframe.
Lee's personal background informs Sphere's mission. As the child of Korean immigrants and co-founding the company with a fellow immigrant to the US, he understands firsthand the challenges of capital movement across borders.
The conversation highlights how stablecoins are gaining legitimacy, particularly following Stripe's acquisition of Bridge - a moment Lee describes as directionally similar to Facebook's Instagram acquisition that transformed perceptions of an emerging technology.
For 2025, Sphere is investing in Latin American expansion through local hiring, sales teams, compliance infrastructure, and partnerships to provide faster, cheaper, and more robust cross-border payment solutions in the region.
I really enjoyed this conversation with Arnold and I hope you do as well.
You can connect with him on Linkedin
-AWS
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