Crypto has earned its share of headlines — many of them negative. From exchange collapses to speculative tokens and regulatory scrutiny, skepticism is understandable. But beneath the noise lies a rapidly maturing set of technologies that are beginning to deliver measurable impact where it matters most: getting capital efficiently, transparently, and responsively into the hands of people and enterprises in underserved markets.
At Mercy Corps Ventures, we’ve spent the past several years testing real-world applications of blockchain and stablecoin-enabled systems in some of the world’s most difficult operating environments. What we’ve learned has profound implications for how investors think about impact, risk, and financial inclusion — not as buzzwords, but as measurable outcomes.
Faster, cheaper and more transparent
In Afghanistan, our stablecoin pilot with a local fintech partner and civil society groups demonstrated a 29% reduction in delivery costs and a 10-hour reduction in payment time compared to informal money transfer agents, delivering more aid per dollar to rural households despite fragile infrastructure. Participants overwhelmingly preferred stablecoin-based transfers to cash, even in low-connectivity settings.
In Syria, another pilot showed that stablecoin rails can move cash to recipients 96% faster and at 60% lower cost than traditional cash-based programming.
We are proving this can work in the most challenging contexts. Each deployment requires significant local customization in setting up offramps, understanding regulations and building local rails. The benefits are worth it.
For impact investors who care about efficiency and accountability, stablecoins are not a niche fintech thesis. They represent a measurable reduction in friction and leakage in aid flows. Every percentage point of cost saved means more resources can reach people in crisis.
Smart contracts for anticipatory action
Humanitarian crises are becoming more frequent, driven by climate change, conflict, and economic shocks. Traditional funding models are reactive, with aid arriving after suffering peaks. What if capital could be pre-positioned and automatically disbursed when early warning signals flash?
That’s the promise of so-called smart contracts for anticipatory action. These are programmable funds that trigger based on predefined data signals like weather forecasts or drought indices.
In Senegal, we launched an anticipatory action pilot that binds AI risk modeling with smart contracts to enable near-instant disbursements before floods hit, reducing response lag and protecting lives and livelihoods.
Similar pilots in Nepal and Kenya are testing drought-triggered cash transfers for pastoralist communities based on climate indicators, resulting in funds disbursed 90% faster and 75% more cheaply.
For investors, this is where impact meets innovation finance. Funds that can automatically release capital in response to clearly defined climate or humanitarian triggers — with audit trails baked into code — significantly de-risk portfolios against systemic shocks while directing capital with precision rather than delay.
Stablecoins in global trade finance
There’s an equally compelling commercial use case. Crypto rails and stablecoin mechanisms to unlock trade finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in frontier markets.
A strong example is REasy, which recently raised a $1.8 million pre-seed round, led by investors including Ingressive Capital, Launch Africa Ventures, and Digital Africa. The Cameroon-based fintech aims to simplify compliant cross-border payments for African small- and medium-sized enterprises, enabling real-time transactions below $10,000 without the delays and costs endemic to traditional trade finance.
By bridging local payment systems and international rails, and co-designing regulatory frameworks with central banks, such platforms are unlocking frictionless trade, expanding market access for businesses that are the backbone of economic growth but traditionally excluded from global commerce. In our pilot with REasy, over $5 million was sent through stablecoin rails with 74% savings in transaction fees.
For impact investors, this points to scalable financial infrastructure opportunities beyond philanthropy — commercial models that improve financial inclusivity and generate returns.
Why impact investors should pay attention
Critics will understandably say blockchain is overhyped. But what we’re seeing in practice is financial infrastructure evolving. Blockchain isn’t replacing banks — it’s augmenting financial systems where they are weakest: conflict zones, low-connectivity regions, and markets starved of access to capital and payments systems.
The opportunity is not to chase the next token price surge — it’s to fund infrastructure and governance structures that make financial systems more inclusive, transparent, and resilient.
Crypto’s reputation has been defined by speculation. But real change — the kind that moves dollars and impacts lives — happens where technology meets real needs and real markets.
For the impact investor, that’s where the next generation of opportunity lies.
Scott Onder is chief investment officer for Mercy Corps and Kenneth Kou is head of the venture lab at Mercy Corps.
Guest posts on ImpactAlpha represent the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of ImpactAlpha.