Kenya’s fintech titans are ditching traditional rails for blockchain, banking on stablecoins to slash remittance costs and accelerate the flow of diaspora dollars.

The era of waiting three days and paying exorbitant fees to receive money from abroad is facing an existential threat. At a high-stakes industry gathering in Nairobi this week, the captains of Kenya’s fintech sector threw their collective weight behind stablecoins—cryptocurrencies pegged to fiat currencies like the US Dollar—as the future of cross-border payments. This isn’t just tech optimism; it’s a calculated bid to capture a larger slice of the multi-billion shilling diaspora remittance market.

With diaspora remittances now eclipsing tea and tourism as Kenya’s top…