Karsa

What do they actually do

Karsa offers a mobile and web “dollar account” for people in emerging markets. Users can convert local currency into USD stablecoins, receive inbound USD to a virtual U.S. account, send money internationally, and spend via a virtual card in‑app. Physical cards and some expanded features are listed as coming soon on their site (gokarsa.com).

Under the hood, Karsa matches users who want to buy USD stablecoins with verified local sellers and uses an escrow process to release the stablecoins after the buyer’s local fiat payment is confirmed. Funds are held in a self‑custody wallet rather than centrally custodied by Karsa, and the model is designed to work in markets with tight capital controls by relying on peer‑to‑peer on/off ramps rather than holding local fiat (Y Combinator company page, gokarsa.com).

The product is available via a web app and Android app experience, with onboarding, KYC, and dispute handling managed by Karsa to keep the peer‑to‑peer flow reliable for non‑crypto users (gokarsa.com, Y Combinator company page).

Who are their target customer(s)

• Freelancers and remote workers paid in USD: They need a reliable way to receive USD from platforms/clients and hold dollars without opening a U.S. bank account; local banks often don’t support easy USD deposits or have slow, costly routes (gokarsa.com, YC company page).
• Small cross‑border payees and micro‑businesses: They face slow, expensive bank transfers and inconsistent acceptance; they need faster, lower‑cost USD receiving and the ability to pay suppliers or payroll in USD (gokarsa.com).
• People receiving remittances: High fees, poor FX rates, and long settlement times reduce the value of money sent home; they want cheaper, faster receipt and optional dollar storage (YC company page, gokarsa.com).
• Savers hedging against local currency volatility: They want a simple way to hold value in dollars to avoid local currency depreciation and banking frictions for foreign currency accounts (gokarsa.com).
• Residents in markets with capital controls or limited rails: Traditional banks may block or delay USD movement; they need peer‑to‑peer on/off ramps with escrow to access dollars without relying on local banks to hold foreign currency (YC company page, gokarsa.com).

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Hand‑recruit from founders’ and YC networks plus active freelancers already seeking USD rails; waive fees and onboard 1:1 to verify KYC, match to local sellers, and fix issues quickly.
• First 50: Target freelancer subreddits, Upwork/Fiverr forums, and WhatsApp/Telegram groups; add a small referral credit for both sides while standardizing but still manually vetting seller onboarding.
• First 100: Run lightweight Facebook/Instagram ads and Play Store landing tests; sign a few reseller/agent relationships in one or two remittance corridors and launch a self‑serve onboarding flow with a documented support SLA.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Global remittances were about $905B in 2024, with $685B flowing to low‑ and middle‑income countries—the core focus for Karsa’s users. USD stablecoin market cap is in the low hundreds of billions, indicating sizable existing dollar‑denominated liquidity (World Bank blog, DeFiLlama stablecoins).

Bottom-up calculation:

Using LMIC remittances (~$685B) as the addressable dollar flow, if Karsa processes X% of that at a Y% blended take (conversion + FX spread + card/send fees), revenue ≈ $685B × X% × Y%. For example, 1% share at a 1% take implies ~$68.5M gross revenue (illustrative, not a forecast) (World Bank blog).

Assumptions:

• Focus on LMIC USD inflows and adjacent dollar savings; overlaps across segments are not double‑counted.
• Blended take rate around low single‑digits, contingent on competitive pricing and corridor mix.
• Regulatory/compliance and on/off‑ramp density allow routing enough volume to reach the assumed share.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• AirTM: Peer‑to‑peer USD e‑wallet with local operators for buying, holding, and cashing out dollars. Directly overlaps on P2P on/off ramps and dollar storage, but with more of a marketplace feel than a neobank app.
• Wise: Regulated multi‑currency accounts with USD receiving details and a debit card. Strong on convenience for freelancers/SMBs but uses traditional fiat rails rather than stablecoins/P2P.
• Airwallex: Global multi‑currency business accounts with virtual USD accounts and cards. Competes on virtual‑account + card use cases for SMBs via bank/fintech rails, not P2P stablecoin flows.
• AZA (BitPesa): Africa‑focused cross‑border payments and FX for businesses and payees. Solves USD access with institutional liquidity and enterprise focus rather than a retail P2P network.
• Binance P2P / Binance Card: P2P marketplace for buying/selling stablecoins with local fiat and crypto‑linked cards. Competes on liquidity and low‑cost on/off ramps, but is exchange‑centric with different compliance tradeoffs.