Multi-currency stablecoins could cut Asia FX costs, Ratio CEO

John Cho, CEO of Ratio and chief stablecoin officer at the Kaia DLT Foundation, said multi-currency stablecoins that include local-currency tokens alongside dollar-pegged coins could eliminate duplicate foreign-exchange conversions in Asian trade and shorten settlement times.

Global cross-border payments still rely on correspondent banking networks and pre-funded Nostro and Vostro accounts. Those arrangements require banks and companies to hold foreign currency balances in multiple countries, create multiday settlement delays and leave capital idle during weekends and time-zone gaps. In parts of Southeast and East Asia, enterprises commonly pay suppliers in South Korean won, settle regional invoices in Singapore dollars and run operations in domestic currencies; routing those flows through dollar intermediaries adds extra FX conversions and can increase cost and exposure to slippage.

Dollar-pegged stablecoins such as USDT and USDC have shown that tokenized settlement can move value across ledgers quickly, but they do not provide native liquidity for local-currency payments. Cho proposed an orchestration layer that coordinates multiple stablecoins so local tokens sit alongside dollar stablecoins and can be used for domestic settlement in regional commerce.

Ratio provides chain-agnostic settlement rails that aim to connect corporate treasury systems to on-chain liquidity. Kaia operates a unified Layer 1 network created after the merger of Kakao’s Klaytn and LINE’s Finschia. The two systems are designed to route transactions on-chain while keeping existing treasury controls and compliance checks in place.

On-chain FX orchestration layers can operate 24/7 and draw liquidity from local issuers and market makers within permissioned environments. Providers describe multi-route rebalancing between internal reserves and issuer minting pathways as a way to enable near-instant execution even when fiat on-ramps are closed for weekends or holidays.

To gain acceptance, vendors aim to integrate with existing ERP and treasury software so companies can choose when to settle on-chain and shift volume gradually. The approach is presented as a routing engine behind current payment gateways rather than a requirement to replace existing systems overnight.

Regulatory clarity is cited as a factor in institutional adoption. Cho pointed to progress on the proposed CLARITY Act in the United States and said he expects stablecoin legislation in Asian countries within the next 12 to 24 months. Industry estimates suggest legacy Nostro accounts can lock up more than $1 billion in some Asian trade corridors, a capital drag that on-chain rails seek to reduce.

As national regulators define how stablecoins fit into payment systems, providers are preparing for scenarios where regulated tokens are accepted settlement instruments and on-chain settlement becomes an alternative to repeated conversions between bank balances and digital ledgers.