Financial inclusion remains one of the world’s most urgent economic challenges. According to the World Bank’s Global Findex 2025 report, 1.4 billion adults worldwide still do not have access to formal financial services. The progress over the past decade is real, but the gap is vast, and it sits most heavily in Africa and South Asia.

What is changing is the infrastructure available to close it. Blockchain technology, which began as the foundation for cryptocurrencies, is evolving into something with far broader implications. A way to move money, store value, and access financial services without needing a bank to permit it.

This article examines the key trends driving that shift across two of the world’s most dynamic and underserved regions.

Crypto Adoption Is Growing Fastest Where It Is Needed Most

The clearest signal of blockchain’s impact is where adoption is accelerating.

Africa is the fastest-growing region for crypto wallet adoption, with year-on-year growth of 38%, led by Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. Nigeria alone has approximately 22 million crypto users, representing nearly 10% of the population, driven by currency instability, expensive remittance costs, and limited access to dollar-denominated savings. Between July 2023 and June 2024, Nigeria’s crypto economy recorded approximately $59 billion in transaction value, making it the second largest country in the world for crypto adoption behind India.

South Asia has seen equally significant growth. Crypto transaction volume in the region rose 80% year on year to approximately $300 billion between mid-2024 and mid-2025, driven heavily by stablecoin activity. India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh consistently rank among the highest globally for adoption. Remittances, savings protection, and cross-border payments are the use cases driving the volume.

The pattern is consistent. People are adopting blockchain because the alternatives have failed them.

Stablecoins Are Becoming the Currency of Choice

Within the broader crypto landscape, stablecoins are the product that matters most for financial inclusion. They combine the accessibility of digital assets with the stability of the US dollar, offering something traditional finance has never managed to deliver at scale. A reliable store of value that anyone with a phone can hold.

Stablecoins now account for approximately 30% of all on-chain transaction volume, with annual flows above $4 trillion. Tether’s USDt alone has more than 534 million users globally, adding over 30 million new users every quarter for eight consecutive quarters.

The appeal in emerging markets is direct. In Nigeria, the naira lost 40.9% of its value against the dollar in 2024 alone. In Turkey and Argentina, the story is similar. For users in these markets, holding USDt is a practical response to currencies that cannot be trusted to hold value.

For remittances, stablecoins solve a different problem. The global average cost of sending money home sits at 6.36%, according to the World Bank. In Sub-Saharan Africa, that rises to 8.78%. Stablecoin transfers settle in minutes at a fraction of that cost. The recipient does not need a bank account to receive the funds.

The Phone Is the Bank

In Africa and South Asia, the phone has become the primary financial interface for hundreds of millions of people. Of the 1.4 billion adults currently without bank accounts, approximately 900 million own a mobile phone, and more than half of them have smartphones. The infrastructure for financial access already exists in people’s pockets. What has been missing is products built to use it.

This is also why blockchain is spreading faster in emerging markets than in developed ones. There is no legacy system to compete with. No established bank branch network to route around. People are moving directly to mobile-first financial tools because those are the tools available, and increasingly the tools that work.

Alongside smartphones, hundreds of millions of people still rely on feature phones. Devices that cost $20, run lightweight operating systems, and work on 2G connectivity. These are not transitional devices. For a large share of the population, they are the primary and often only connection to the digital world.

Most blockchain products have been built without these users in mind. The wallet interfaces, the onboarding flows, the gas fee requirements, all assume a user with a capable device, fast internet, and a degree of technical literacy that most people in these markets do not have.

That is where the gap remains.

Where Sorted Fits

Sorted is building for everyone else.

The 500,000 people who have downloaded Sorted are in Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Pakistan, and other emerging markets. They are on feature phones and low-powered Android devices. They send money home, hold stable digital currency, and pay bills. They are doing all of this without expensive smartphones, without bank accounts, and without paid acquisition campaigns telling them to.

The product is built for their needs. 10MB. Non-custodial. Works on a $20 phone. Available in 160 countries.

That focus is the difference. While the rest of the industry chases the next trader, Sorted is reaching the next billion who actually need solutions.

Sorted is a lightweight stablecoin wallet built for feature phones and low-end smartphones, designed to bring digital financial services to users in emerging markets. Join the Sorted Wallet community today and experience the future of finance, simplified and accessible for everyone.

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Everyone wants the dollar. Not everyone can get it.

For decades, the US dollar has been the world’s most trusted store of value. In times of uncertainty, people move toward it instinctively. But in many emerging markets, actually accessing dollars is far from simple. Strict banking regulations, limited foreign currency reserves, and high conversion costs put USD out of reach for the average person. The dollar has always been desirable. It has never been accessible.

Tether’s USDt is at the centre of that shift.

The Problem With Local Currency

In Nigeria, the naira lost 40.9% of its value against the dollar in 2024 alone, closing the year at N1,535 per dollar compared to N997 at the start. In Argentina and Turkey, the story is similar. Currencies eroding faster than savings can grow, with ordinary people bearing the cost of instability they did not create.

At the same time, moving money across borders remains expensive. The global average cost of sending remittances sits at 6.36%, according to the World Bank. In Sub-Saharan Africa, that figure rises to 8.78%. Banks are worse still, averaging 14.99% per transfer. For a migrant worker sending $200 home, that is between $12 and $30 lost before the money reaches its destination.

Global remittance flows reached $905 billion in 2024, with $685 billion going to low and middle-income countries. That is more than foreign direct investment and official development assistance combined. The people sending this money cannot afford to lose 10% of it every time.

Enter USDt: A Digital Dollar

Tether’s USDt is a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the US dollar. Unlike traditional USD, it exists on blockchain networks, allowing users to send, receive, and store digital dollars globally in minutes. As of May 2026, USDt has a market cap of approximately $190 billion, making it the world’s largest stablecoin by a significant margin.

More than 534 million people now hold USDt globally. Tether has added over 30 million new users every quarter for eight consecutive quarters. That growth is coming from people in Lagos, Karachi, and Dhaka who need a stable currency and have found one.

What makes USDt powerful in emerging markets is not just its stability. It is what it does not require. No bank account. No foreign exchange approval. No three-day wait. A phone, a wallet, and a connection are enough. For hundreds of millions of people, that is a lower barrier than anything the traditional financial system has ever offered.

Why USDt Is Growing in Emerging Markets

In high-inflation economies, saving in local currency means watching money lose value. USDt holds dollar value without needing a foreign bank account or physical cash.

For remittances, the case is equally clear. USDt transfers settle in minutes. Fees are a fraction of what banks and traditional money transfer operators charge. The recipient does not need a bank account. In Sub-Saharan Africa, where sending money home costs an average of 8.78%, the savings are real and immediate.

South Asia has felt this most sharply. Crypto transaction volume in the region rose 80% year on year to approximately $300 billion between mid-2024 and mid-2025, driven heavily by stablecoin activity. People are not adopting USDt because it is new. They are adopting it because it works better than what they had before.

South Asia has felt this most sharply. Crypto transaction volume in the region rose 80% year-on-year to approximately $300 billion between mid-2024 and mid-2025, driven heavily by stablecoin activity. People are adopting USDt because it works better than what they had before.

There is one more factor that rarely gets mentioned. Banks close, payment systems go offline but blockchain networks do not. For people in markets where financial infrastructure fails regularly, always-on access is the baseline requirement that has to be met.

How Sorted Is Closing the Gap

The infrastructure for dollar access exists. The gap has always been delivery.

Most crypto products were built for people with flagship smartphones, fast internet, and the financial literacy to navigate complex onboarding. That describes a fraction of the world. In Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and Pakistan, the reality is different. People are on $20 feature phones, connectivity is intermittent and financial systems have historically excluded people rather than served them.

That is the problem Sorted was built to solve.

Sorted Wallet runs on feature phones and low-powered Android devices. It fits in 10MB. It holds USDt and Bitcoin, is non-custodial by design, and works across 160 countries. Nobody holds your money but you.

In Nigeria, Sorted users hold USDt because the naira keeps losing value. In Kenya, they send money home without paying 8% to a remittance provider. In Tanzania, they pay suppliers without waiting three days for a bank transfer to clear. These are not edge cases. They are the core of what Sorted does.

Dollars, Reimagined

Access to the US dollar has long been shaped by where you were born and what bank would have you. For most of human history, that has meant billions of people left outside a system they had no way to enter.

USDt changes the terms. Not by fixing the traditional financial system, but by offering something alongside it that works better for the people it was never designed to serve.

The only question left is whether the phone in their pocket can run the wallet. For 500,000 people across 160 countries, it already can.

Sorted is a lightweight stablecoin wallet built for feature phones and low-end smartphones, designed to bring digital financial services to users in emerging markets. Join the Sorted Wallet community today and experience the future of finance, simplified and accessible for everyone.

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In 2022, we came across a phone. A $20 feature phone. We started reading and found that hundreds of millions of people across Africa and South Asia rely on these devices as their only connection to the world. For most of them, the financial infrastructure around that phone had never caught up.

Nobody had ever built for that phone. We did.

Since then, Sorted Wallet has been downloaded more than 500,000 times across 160 countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Bangladesh, and beyond. No paid advertising, just a product people actually needed. It runs on feature phones and smartphones, fits in 10MB, and is built on one principle: nobody holds your money but you.

Today we are announcing a $4.4M seed round, led by Tether and Gnosis, with participation from Movement, Angel Invest, and angels including the founders of RWA.io.

Who Backed Us and Why It Matters

Tether is the largest company in the digital asset industry, with more than 570 million users globally. They bring distribution and a clear view of where the next wave of stablecoin adoption actually comes from, and it is not from the markets everyone else is already fighting over.

“Over the years, digital asset use cases have evolved from trading tools to real-life applications, promoting financial freedom and inclusion. However, to achieve true inclusion, we must reach hundreds of millions of people who cannot afford smartphones or data plans,” shared Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether. “That’s why we have reinvested in Sorted Wallet, ensuring that everyone, regardless of device, economic status, or location, can participate freely in the global economy using the systems and devices they are most familiar with.”

Gnosis has spent a decade building open financial infrastructure. They see Sorted as the last mile of that vision.

Gnosis views Sorted as a key distribution layer for bringing stablecoin-based payments into real-world use, extending accessible financial infrastructure to users beyond the reach of traditional fintech.

~ Daniele Pinna, Investment Partner, Gnosis

Movement builds for the same markets we operate in and understands what it takes to build where traditional systems have failed.

Movement backed Sorted because they are doing what most of the industry talks about and few actually do. They are building infrastructure for the people who need it most, not the people who are easiest to reach. This is exactly the kind of real-world financial utility Movement is built to support, and we think the next chapter for Sorted is going to be significant.

~ Torab Torabi, CEO, Movement

Angel Invest backs founders who are solving problems the market has not yet recognised. Sorted is building exactly that kind of solution.

Sorted is built for the users most financial products still fail to reach. By making stablecoin payments and remittances work on low-cost phones, the team is addressing one of the biggest gaps in financial access.

~ Marco Muccini, Venture Partner at Angel Invest

Who We Are Building For

Most of crypto was built for people who already had options. People with bank accounts, credit cards, stable currencies, reliable internet. That was never our market.

Our users are in Kenya sending money home to a family member without a bank account. They are in Nigeria holding USDT because the Naira keeps losing value. They are in Tanzania paying a supplier in a currency that does not require a three-day wait. They are doing this on phones the rest of the industry has never once considered building for.

What This Round Unlocks

We are expanding our presence across Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, with stronger telco and mobile operator integrations. More markets, more users, more features built around how people actually move money.

Three years ago we built a wallet for a $20 phone. Nobody else thought it was worth building for. 500,000 downloads later, we know better. This round is how we find the next 100 million.

~ Stephen Browne, CEO, Sorted

Finally, to our users, our partners, our team, and everyone who saw what we were building before it was obvious, thank you. The next chapter starts now.

Sorted is a lightweight stablecoin wallet built for feature phones and low-end smartphones, designed to bring digital financial services to users in emerging markets. Join the Sorted Wallet community today and experience the future of finance, simplified and accessible for everyone.

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There is a problem most crypto wallets never talk about.

To send USDT, you need a separate token just to cover the fee. ETH on Ethereum. BNB on BNB Chain. Every transfer requires you to hold something extra before you can move the thing you actually want to move.

For someone sending $10 to family, that is where most first-time users stop.

Account abstraction removes this barrier.

What Is Account Abstraction?

Most crypto wallets follow one fixed rule: gas fees must be paid in the native token of whatever chain you are on. However, account abstraction upgrades a wallet into a smart contract account; one that can follow programmable rules instead of rigid ones.

For Sorted users, the immediate change is this: you can now pay gas fees in USDT. You do not need ETH, POL, BNB or other tokens to send money. The extra step is gone.

Built for the Phone in Your Pocket

If you are in Nigeria, Kenya, Pakistan, or Mozambique, sending money home, paying bills, holding value outside a banking system that does not serve you, this update was built for you.

You have USDT. You want to send USDT. Being told to first go buy ETH or any other token is the moment most people close the app.

Now you send, pay the fee in USDT, and that’s it.

Sorted Wallet has now implemented account abstraction in collaboration with Candide.

Why Candide?

Candide has built open-source, audited smart account infrastructure that is production-ready and designed for exactly the kind of real-world utility Sorted is building.

Their infrastructure gives us the foundation, while we focus on what we do best: building the right product experience for users across emerging markets.

What’s Next?

Sorted will continue removing barriers between people and financial tools that actually work for them. This is one of the most important ones we have removed so far.

Update your Sorted app and try it yourself.

Join the Sorted community today and experience the future of finance, simplified and accessible for everyone.

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In the early days of cryptocurrency, users often interacted with a single blockchain, whether Bitcoin for peer-to-peer transfers or Ethereum for smart contract activity. Today, the landscape is far more diverse. Stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) exist across multiple networks, transactions happen across chains, and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols span ecosystems. To truly unlock crypto’s potential, modern wallets must embrace multi-blockchain access.

Why Multi-Blockchain Matters

1. Reflecting a Multi-Chain World

The blockchain ecosystem has evolved into a multi-chain universe where value is not confined to a single network. Different blockchains offer unique advantages, from low costs to high throughput and broad liquidity. Users today do not want to be restricted; they want freedom to choose the chain that best serves their needs.

Without multi-blockchain support, wallets limit users to one set of transaction fees, one liquidity pool, and one mode of settlement. With it, users can access the most efficient path for sending, receiving, or storing digital assets, a crucial advantage in real-world use cases like remittances.

2. Cost Efficiency for Everyday Users

In emerging markets, every cent counts. Network fees can make or break the practicality of a transfer, particularly for remittances or small-value payments. Multi-blockchain access lets users opt for the most affordable network available at any given time, making crypto more practical and accessible for everyday financial needs.

This is especially important in regions where traditional banking is limited and mobile fees are high. Reducing friction and lowering costs directly contributes to broader adoption.

3. Increased Resilience and Flexibility

No single blockchain is without flaws. Congestion, unexpected technical issues, and price volatility of fees can all affect user experience. When a wallet supports multiple blockchains, users are not stuck waiting, they can simply choose an alternative route that works better in that moment.

This flexibility increases resilience, enhances reliability, and allows users to stay in control of their value even when one network faces challenges.

4. Greater Interoperability with Stablecoins and Digital Assets

Stablecoins and digital assets are increasingly used for payments, savings, and cross-border transfers. Because they exist on several blockchains at once, having access to multiple networks allows users to transact in the same asset without being limited by where it’s stored.

This interoperability reduces friction and brings crypto closer to real-world money movement, whether sending funds to family overseas or paying for daily expenses.

How Multi-Blockchain Access Fits Into Sorted’s Mission

Sorted is built around a powerful principle: financial freedom should be accessible to everyone, no matter the device they use. Sorted is designed to work on feature phones and low-powered smartphones, bringing crypto tools to users who are often excluded from traditional financial systems.

Sorted already enables users to send and receive Bitcoin and USDt across multiple blockchain networks. Multi-blockchain access enhances this mission in several ways:

• Increased accessibility: Users can access value on the most efficient networks without being locked into one chain.
• Lower costs: Multiple networks mean more options for affordable fees, which is crucial in markets where costs can be prohibitive.
• Real-world usability: Simplified multi-chain access turns crypto into a practical tool for sending money, paying bills, or managing savings — that too from any phone.

By integrating multi-blockchain access into an accessible, non-custodial wallet that works on any phone, Sorted bridges the gap between cutting-edge blockchain technology and the daily financial needs of users across emerging markets.

Join the Sorted community today and experience the future of finance, simplified and accessible for everyone.

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When people talk about “mass adoption,” the conversation usually assumes a smartphone, constant data, and a modern banking app. But that’s not how most of the world connects today. A huge share of people still come online through basic or low-spec devices, and affordability remains one of the biggest barriers to getting online in the first place.

That’s why feature phones are quietly becoming one of the most important gateways to Web3: they are the bridge between offline economies and digital value.

Why feature phones matter for Web3

Web3 is often framed as “new tech,” but in many emerging markets it’s mainly about new financial rails. People want ways to save in stable value when local currency is volatile, receive money cross-border without delays, and access digital assets without needing a bank account. Those needs exist long before someone upgrades their phone.

Feature phones offer reach. They are affordable, durable, and familiar. They work better in low-bandwidth conditions and often match how first-time internet users already operate. In many ways, this is exactly how mobile money scaled, not by chasing the most advanced users, but by enabling everyday transactions for everyone.

The “mobile internet” gap is really a “handset” gap

By the end of 2023, 4.6B people were using mobile internet globally, but adoption growth has flattened and a major “usage gap” persists. That gap isn’t only about network coverage. It’s also driven by device affordability, digital literacy, and interfaces that feel too complex plus apps that assume always-on connectivity. Feature phones and low-spec smartphones sit right in the middle of this reality.

What “Web3 on feature phones” actually looks like

Let’s be clear: feature phones will not run heavy DeFi dashboards. But they can support practical Web3 use cases, especially when the experience is designed intentionally.

1) Stablecoin savings that behave like digital cash

For many users, the first “Web3 product” is not an NFT. It’s the ability to hold value in a currency that does not swing daily. Feature-phone-friendly wallets can make this usable by keeping flows simple (receive, send, hold), reducing steps and jargon, and showing balances clearly, ideally in a way that feels familiar in local context.

2) Cross-border transfers that do not depend on banks

Some of the strongest real-world adoption starts with remittances: family support, cross-border trade, and small-business payments. On a feature phone supported by blockchain technology, the breakthrough is that money can move faster, with fewer intermediaries, and with more user control.

3) Payments that work in everyday life

When a wallet helps someone pay for essentials, top up airtime, and move money between people, “Web3” becomes an infrastructure.

4) Digital ownership for first-time users

In many markets, people are used to platforms holding power over their accounts. Self-custody (when made understandable) changes that: users hold their keys, users hold their money, and access does not depend on a company’s permission. But usability matters, self-custody only scales when it’s safe and simple enough for real life.

The design principles that will decide adoption

Feature-phone Web3 adoption will be won by product decisions. Low bandwidth-first experiences matter because fewer screens and fewer network calls mean faster, more reliable usage. A small app footprint matters because storage and RAM are limited. Clear language matters because “crypto terms” do not translate into trust. Recovery must be realistic, because people need backup flows that they can actually complete. And asset support should prioritize what people genuinely need: stable value rails and fast payment paths, not complexity for its own sake.

What this means for Sorted

At Sorted, we are building for the people using feature phones and low-powered smartphones who still deserve access to modern financial tools. That means non-custodial access where users stay in control, practical assets like Bitcoin and stable value rails, and product design that respects constraints instead of assuming ideal conditions.

Because Web3 adoption will come from building systems that work on the devices people already trust and making digital money feel as normal as sending a message.

Join the Sorted community today and experience the future of finance, simplified and accessible for everyone.

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For many people, “wallet security” sounds like a technical topic. But in crypto, it’s a very important one: it determines who can access your money?

That’s what the custodial vs non-custodial debate really comes down to.

Custodial vs Non-Custodial

• Custodial wallet: another company holds your private keys, and you access funds through their account system.
• Non-custodial wallet: you control the private keys, and the wallet app is simply the interface.

That simple difference changes the risk model completely.

How is Non-Custodial Better than Custodial Wallet?

• No counterparty risk: When you keep funds in a custodial wallet (typically an exchange or centralized wallet), you are trusting that business to remain solvent, protect its systems, follow fair policies, and let you withdraw when you want. If any of those fail, your funds can be stuck. With a non-custodial wallet, you hold the asset directly, controlled by keys you own. If you change apps or phones, you can restore access using your backup phrase. The money is not “inside” a company.
• No single point of failure: Custodial platforms are high-value targets as they hold large pools of funds attracting professional attackers. So when a centralized entity is compromised, many users are exposed at once. Non-custodial wallets reduce that single point of failure risk because there is not one single giant vault to break into.
• No restrictions: Many custodial platforms face restrictions from local regulations, compliance policies, banking partners, and more. All these restrictions means your access depends on someone else’s rules, timing, and decisions. A non-custodial wallet eliminates this problems allowing you to keep your wallet moving.

A non-custodial wallet is a practical safety decision, especially if you are using crypto for savings, remittances, or everyday value storage like most Sorted Wallet users.

Is Sorted Wallet Non-Custodial?

Yes, Sorted is a non-custodial wallet, meaning your funds are secured in your own wallet and only you control your funds and private keys.

And importantly, Sorted is designed for real-world constraints:

• it’s built for accessibility (including older smartphones and feature phones)
• and it supports practical rails like Bitcoin Lightning and USDt, with a focus on everyday usage.

So the goal is not only to be non-custodial, but to make self-custody usable for people.

Safety Tips for Sorted Wallet

Here’s the honest part: non-custodial is safer structurally, but it requires basic safety habits on your end to ensure your funds remain risk free.

1. Secure your private keys offline: Your recovery phrase is the key, and if it’s lost, your wallet access is gone.
2. Never share your private keys with anyone.
3. Update your app regularly to ensure you have the latest security measures.

Join the Sorted community today and experience the future of finance, simplified and accessible for everyone.

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Why USA?

The United States is the world’s largest source of remittances and home to some of the biggest diaspora communities we serve. Bringing Sorted to the US lets us meet users where they live, earn, and support loved ones, while keeping the experience simple across every phone, including feature phones. For decades, the U.S. has consistently been the top remittance-sending country in the world so it makes sense for us to be acquiring users in this region.

KaiOS 3.0 is big in the US

Sorted started with the conviction that crypto tools must work on the most common devices. KaiOS 3.0 devices are actively sold in the US through mainstream carriers, think Nokia 2780 Flip (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile), TCL Flip Pro (Verizon), and Alcatel Go Flip 4 (T-Mobile). That means there’s already an addressable base for ultra-light, reliable payments on low-cost phones. KaiOS has shipped to 170M+ devices globally, and the 3.0 generation powers current U.S. carrier flips.

Who we are serving first: immigrant corridors

The U.S. is home to large, growing communities that regularly send funds back home, and need tools that are instant, transparent, and work on any phone.

Indian diaspora: ~5.2 million Indian-origin residents (2023), the second-largest Asian origin group in the United States.

Nigerian diaspora: In 2024, a statement by the U.S. Consul General in Lagos confirmed over 700,000 people of Nigerian descent living in the U.S.

Pakistani diaspora: Approximately 624,000 Pakistanis (0.18% of the U.S. population) live in the States.

These communities anchor some of the busiest payment corridors, and they increasingly expect modern rails that do not sacrifice ease of use or control of funds.

Stablecoins in USA: USDT vs. USAT (and why it matters)

As Sorted launches in the States, users will see two “digital dollars” with different regulatory footprints:

• USDT is Tether’s globally used dollar-stablecoin, widely held outside the US. It remains the world’s largest stablecoin by market cap and is deeply liquid across exchanges and P2P markets.
• USAT is Tether’s new USA-focused stablecoin designed to operate under America’s GENIUS Act framework. As reported, USAT is slated to be issued by a federally chartered institution (Anchorage Digital Bank) with reserves and disclosures structured for the US rulebook. In short: USAT is for U.S. residents and businesses; USDT continues serving global markets.

The GENIUS Act

Enacted in July 2025, the GENIUS Act is the first comprehensive U.S. law for payment stablecoins. It sets who can issue a payment stablecoin in the US, how reserves and audits work, what AML/sanctions controls must look like, and how products can be marketed. It clarifies that only “permitted payment stablecoin issuers” can issue to U.S. users, and it puts stablecoin compliance firmly under federal oversight (with bank-like prudential expectations for reserves, reporting, and governance).

What this means for Sorted

• In the United States, Sorted will surface USAT for compliant, dollar-stable transactions that fit the GENIUS Act regime.
• Outside the U.S., Sorted will continue to support USDT where it’s widely used and liquid. For cross-border needs (e.g., a user in Dallas sending home to Lagos or Lahore), Sorted will support USAT for global users as well to ensure preserving compliance.

Why this aligns with our story

At Sorted, we build for the people who keep economies moving, the students, caregivers, small traders, and families who make every transaction matter. Whether it’s sending money home or collecting payments, Sorted is made to work the way life actually happens. The US launch extends that promise to the world’s largest remittance source country, meeting Indian, Nigerian, Pakistani (and many other) communities where they already are.

Join the Sorted community today and experience the future of finance, simplified and accessible for everyone.

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As we close out 2025, we are proud of the progress we have made, and even more clear-eyed about what still needs to be built for people in emerging markets who just want money that works. In 2026, we are prioritizing four things:

1. Product quality is non-negotiable. In 2026 we are tightening every core flow and shipping faster, guided by constant feedback from users across emerging markets.
2. Turn Sorted into rails, not just an app, while staying non-custodial. A layer that on-ramps, off-ramps, and PSPs can integrate into to reach the users we already serve, without compromising user control of funds.
3. Scale the real-world rails that are already working. Especially our stablecoin top-up cards, which have been going extraordinarily well.
4. Push adoption into the real economy. Especially through merchants, local partnerships, and the places people actually spend and save.

Everything else ladders up to those priorities. Keeping the above 4 pillars in mind, we will aim to deliver the following in 2026:

1. Product in 2026: Lite and Pro, plus key upgrades

A big part of 2026 is rolling out two experiences inside Sorted Wallet:

• Lite, designed for non-tech savvy users who are first-time crypto users
• Pro, for users who want more control and advanced functionality

Alongside that, we are shipping several concrete product upgrades:

• iOS for Sorted Wallet (Q1 2026)
• Swap (Q1 2026), so users can exchange between supported assets in a simple, transparent way
• Save, with straightforward saving flows designed for low-risk yields
• Support for new platforms, continuing to expand beyond the platforms we already serve

We also have plans to be utilizing Tether’s WDK (Wallet Development Kit) to accelerate key wallet capabilities, including Swap and Save, and to help us ship faster with a reliable foundation.

Under the hood, we are leveraging Chainlink CCIP to support a more unified cross-chain experience. The goal is to reduce the operational complexity of moving value across chains and enable gasless flows where possible, so the product feels simpler for everyday users.

2. Sorted as a layer: integrations for on-ramps, off-ramps, and PSPs

In 2025, we proved something important. Sorted reaches users that many traditional on-ramps and off-ramps do not, across markets that are structurally underserved.

In 2026, we are making Sorted more of an integration layer, where other on-ramps, off-ramps, and PSPs can plug in and reliably reach our user base, while keeping Sorted non-custodial, so users remain in control of their funds. This creates more optionality for users and a faster path to distribution for partners. It also helps bring better pricing, better availability, and better reliability into markets where those basics are often missing.

3. Scaling stablecoin top-up cards in 2026

Our stablecoin top-up cards have been going extraordinarily well, and in 2026 we plan to scale this aggressively and responsibly. That means expanding availability, improving reliability, and making the experience smoother across the markets where these cards are already resonating.
This is one of the clearest examples of our approach: focus on what users already find useful, then industrialize it without losing the product quality.

4. Doubling down across Africa and South Asia

In 2026 we are going deeper across West Africa and East Africa, and across Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.

• Nigeria remains core in West Africa
• Kenya is a priority in East Africa
• Somaliland remains a focus, alongside our partner GE&MT, and with continued commitment to work closely with the Central Bank
• Pakistan is central to our South Asia plans, with continued expansion across India and Bangladesh

5. Telecom and handset partnerships: distribution is the unlock

In emerging markets, distribution is not a nice-to-have. It is the deciding factor. We have exciting work underway with telecom companies and handset manufacturers, and we are continuing to build on our deep partnership with KaiOS, so Sorted is accessible on the devices and ecosystems where our users already live.

Just as importantly, we are building a strong partnership pipeline that goes beyond traditional fintech. That includes charities, telcos, NGOs, semi-state organizations, and educational boards, with a shared goal of getting practical digital money into the hands of people who can use it day to day.

6. Merchants in 2026: bringing digital money into local communities

2026 is a big year for Sorted Business.

Sorted Business is how we bring digital value into local commerce in a way that is usable, accountable, and scalable. The goal is simple: help merchants and local operators participate in the stablecoin economy without needing a new playbook.

We are rolling out the Sorted Business app more broadly so local merchants can accept USDt and Bitcoin, making digital value usable in the places where daily commerce actually happens. Over time, this is how we expand from a consumer wallet into a full ecosystem that supports people on both sides of a transaction.

7. Re-entering the United States

We plan to re-launch in the United States in early 2026, aligned with market readiness and regulation. As the GENIUS Act compliant USAT token rolls out, we intend to support it in the U.S., with a clear focus on remittances and cross-border utility.

More broadly, we believe the U.S. market is ready for a trusted platform to hold, spend, send, and manage stablecoins day to day. That is the direction we are building toward.

8. Getting on the ground in 2026

We are planning business development trips across Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, alongside continued travel across Africa.

On the events side, we expect to be at:

• Africa Tech Summit (Nairobi)
• Conférence Bitcoin Afrique (Burkina Faso)
• Mobile World Congress (Barcelona and Kigali)
• Consensus (Hong Kong)
• TOKEN2049 (Singapore and Dubai)

A few other appearances are still being finalized.

9. A few things we are not ready to share yet

We have a few surprises planned, and a couple of partnerships and product releases already in motion. When they are ready, we will share them properly.

If we execute well, 2026 will be the year Sorted becomes a name people associate with practical financial access, across emerging markets and beyond.

We are grateful for the trust users and partners have placed in us. We also want to say a sincere thank you to the Tether team, who have been extremely helpful and supportive as we build and scale.

Join the Sorted community today and experience the future of finance, simplified and accessible for everyone.

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2025 was a major year for Sorted. We focused on partnerships that strengthen infrastructure, improve reliability, and bring simple, real world crypto access to more people on low resource smartphones and feature phones. Below is a recap of key collaborations that shaped our year.

Breez

Breez helped us deepen Bitcoin Lightning support, enabling faster payments and smoother real world transactions, especially in low bandwidth environments. Take a look at the official partnership announcement here.

The Breez SDK Empowers Sorted to Empower Everyone

Liquid Federation

Our work with the Liquid Network and the Liquid Federation strengthens our Bitcoin based settlement rails and supports USDt over Liquid transfers designed for speed and predictable settlement. Our update is available here.

Animoca Brands and Open Campus

Sorted has partnered with Tether and Open Campus (portfolio company of Animoca) to support an on-chain student finance initiative starting in Kenya, with loans issued in USDt and managed through Sorted Wallet.
The collaboration aims to demonstrate a real world stablecoin use case for education finance, combining institutional support, transparent settlement, and accessible distribution on low resource devices. View the official announcement here.

Chainlink

Chainlink integration brings reliable price data into Sorted, improving FX transparency and quote accuracy for users moving value across markets. Read the release here.

Kotani Pay

Kotani Pay, who is part of the Tether portfolio ecosystem, enables seamless off ramps into mobile money and bank accounts, helping connect on chain value to everyday financial systems across Africa. More on the integration here.

Hodari Foundation

Hodari Fund and Sorted launched a pilot in eastern Congo to deliver direct USDt grants through Sorted Wallet app, allowing women to restart income generating work such as farming, food businesses, and small retail shops. You can read the full case study here.

Empowering Displaced Women with Bitcoin and USDT in Congo

Celo

Working with Celo aligns with a shared focus on mobile first access and emerging market payments. This partnership supports stablecoin use cases designed for everyday needs and practical commerce. Details from our announcement here.

Bringing Celo to Sorted Wallet Users in Emerging Markets

Looking ahead

Each partnership reflects a shared belief: infrastructure and collaboration matter as much as product design. As we move forward, we will keep working with partners who help make digital money accessible, reliable, and useful for everyday life.