Written by: KarenZ, Foresight News
Original title: Pantera, Sequoia, and Samsung join forces to bet on FIN to steal business from traditional banks?
In the current global financial system, large-scale cross-border transfers are still plagued by slow arrival times, high fees, and cumbersome procedures. A startup called FIN is addressing this pain point with its stablecoin, attempting to reshape the industry landscape.
Founded by two former Citadel employees, FIN is not just dabbling in peripheral areas; it is building a large-scale payment system using stablecoin technology, aiming to provide businesses and high-net-worth individuals with an instant and efficient cross-border transfer experience.
In early December 2025, FIN announced the completion of a $17 million funding round, led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Sequoia and Samsung Next. This strong investor recognition highlights the potential of its sector.
So, what exactly is FIN? What is its background? And how will it be implemented in the future? This article will take you to find out.
FIN's core positioning
Many people's initial impression of this team comes from its predecessor, TipLink—a lightweight tool that supports the transfer of encrypted assets via URL links, supports the Solana network, and is free.
However, the renamed FIN has upgraded its goal to "challenge traditional banks' global payment app", focusing on meeting the needs of users and enterprises for large-amount transfers of millions of dollars, and supporting diverse scenarios such as transferring to other FIN users, direct deposit into bank accounts, or circulation through cryptocurrency channels.
In an interview with Fortune magazine, FIN CEO Ian Krotinsky stated that the company's core goal is to create "the payment application of the future": fully leveraging the technological advantages of stablecoins while removing their complex professional barriers to achieve barrier-free use globally.
This positioning perfectly aligns with the current development trend of the stablecoin sector.
Core Team: Quantitative Analysis + Pain-Driven Approach
One of FIN's core competitive advantages lies in the strong background of its founding team.
FIN co-founder and CEO Ian Krotinsky: Before founding the project in 2022, he worked as a quantitative portfolio manager and trader at top hedge fund Citadel from 2016 to 2022, and previously worked as an algorithmic trader at Goldman Sachs.
Aashiq Dheeraj, co-founder and CTO of FIN: previously worked as a quantitative analyst at Citadel Securities from 2018 to 2022.
According to Fortune magazine, during their time working at Citadel, the two often spent evenings and weekends developing various hacking projects, including a Reddit-like platform where users could earn $50 for getting their posts featured on the homepage. This experience made them acutely aware of the inefficiency and high costs of traditional cross-border money transfers, ultimately leading them to decide to use blockchain technology to address this industry pain point.
According to FIN's official website, team members also have backgrounds at companies such as Google, Meta, Uber, and Chime, a leading US digital bank.
Financing process
Back in February 2023, TipLink completed a $6 million seed round of financing, led by Sequoia Capital and Multicoin Capital, with participation from Solana Ventures, Circle Ventures, Paxos, and others.
Nearly three years later, on December 3, 2025, FIN announced the completion of a $17 million Series A funding round, led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Sequoia Capital and Samsung Next, the investment arm of Samsung. Several industry veterans joined as angel investors, including Helius CEO Mert, Stripe's stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge CEO Zach Abrams, Ellipsis Labs co-founder Jarry Xiao, and Tensor co-founder Richard Wu.
From TipLink to FIN: How does the project work?
As mentioned earlier, FIN was formerly known as TipLink. TipLink is a lightweight wallet whose biggest innovation is that the link itself is a non-custodial wallet, currently only supporting the Solana network, and it does not charge any fees.
TipLink has built a mature lightweight payment ecosystem:
Regular users can log in via Web3 wallet or Google account, create a TipLink and share it via any platform such as SMS, Discord, or email. The recipient can automatically activate the wallet by logging in with Gmail, enabling asset holding, transfer, or secondary distribution.
The enterprise-grade product TipLink Pro supports the distribution of tokens or NFT assets through a single control panel;
The TipLink Wallet Adapter for developers supports quick integration of wallet functionality, allowing users to sign transactions using only their Google account.
While not all details have been disclosed regarding the revamped FIN, five core operational logics have been clearly defined:
Built on the stablecoin USDC: FIN supports using the USDC US dollar stablecoin as a settlement medium. A demonstration by Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire for FIN stated that the seamless connection between USDC corporate accounts and payments, along with the interoperability of fiat and cryptocurrency in the background, delivers an efficient user experience.
Focusing on "high-value transactions": Unlike TipLink, which initially focused on small-amount transfers for individual consumers and many other small-amount payment applications on the market, FIN focuses on high-value institutional transactions. Its use cases include asset transfers for high-net-worth individuals, import and export trade settlements, and internal transfers within multinational corporations.
A hub for fiat currency and digital assets: As Jeremy Allaire states, thanks to the interoperability of fiat and cryptocurrency in the background, users can convert fiat currency into stablecoins for cross-border transfers. The recipient can choose to retain the stablecoins or withdraw them directly to a local bank account through FIN's compliant channels.
Where will the revenue come from? According to Fortune magazine, FIN states that its revenue will come from transaction fees, but these fees will be lower for users than other alternatives. In addition, FIN will also generate revenue through interest income from stablecoins held in the FIN wallet.
"De-cryptofication" experience: Ian Krotinsky states that FIN aims to leverage the advantages of stablecoins while eliminating their complexity. Users of FIN do not need to understand what gas fees, private keys, or on-chain confirmations are when using FIN.
summary
TipLink's evolution from a single "link transfer" function to FIN's "payment platform" reflects the shift in the Web3 payment landscape from "fun" to "user-friendly" and "commercialized."
If TipLink allowed users to experience the convenience of "sending a link is like sending money," then FIN's goal is to make this convenience the daily standard for global business trade.
In the increasingly crowded stablecoin market, FIN stands out as a player worth long-term attention due to its team's quantitative trading background, clear institutional-grade positioning, and compatibility with traditional finance.
FIN has announced the upcoming launch of a pilot program for import and export companies. For these companies, the efficiency of cross-border payments directly impacts supply chain turnover efficiency, and FIN's "instant payment" service may further boost the efficiency of the cross-border payment industry.
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