M^0 Launches Programmable Stablecoin Infrastructure on Solana

Programmable stablecoin platform M^0 is headed to Solana to launch the KAST neobank’s digital dollar.

KAST is partnering with M^0, as well as integrators such as Jito and Spree Finance, to help build out the platform’s dual digital dollar system, and it will be the first user of the M^0 framework on Solana.

The ecosystem will use its USDK and USDKY stablecoins to create “the ultimate stablecoin wallet,” with an estimated launch date of June to July 2025. Through this activation, KAST is building a KYC-optional neobank that marries traditional banking and fintech rails with blockchain infrastructure and dApps.

M^0 was initially developed for the Ethereum Virtual Machine and deployed on EVM chains Arbitrum and Optimism in February. The collaboration with KAST will mark the protocol's first venture towards a competing Layer 1 network.

KAST offers USD-denominated accounts to users in more than 150 countries via its Solana-powered debit card solution. The app, which is available on iOS and Google Play, and debit card allow users to pay for purchases with USDT, USDC, USDe, KAST, and soon the KAST Dollar (USDK) at more than 100 million vendors that accept payment methods such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. The company raised $10 million in December 2024 in a seed round led by HSG and Peak XV.

“By issuing our own stablecoin, we ensure full transparency, with all customer deposits represented on-chain. Solana was the clear choice for deployment, given our strong existing partnership and its advantages in speed and low fees,” said Raagulan Pathy, the co-founder and CEO of KAST.

“We are definitely going to live in a world with more stablecoins than we have today. I think businesses want control of these stacks. Lending the dollar brand to your brand is a very impactful decision to make, but it's also a very powerful one,” Joao Reginatto, the Chief Strategy Officer at M^0, told the Defiant.

Reginatto attributed the importance of programmable stablecoins to an evolving blockchain ecosystem, citing that companies such as KAST that launch their own stablecoins should have the ability to decide how to utilize native stablecoin yield, whether that takes the form of budget bolstering or something like user incentives. He compared the DeFi and stablecoin space to traditional fintech in this example.

“Fintechs have their own use cases and their own markets that they serve… they always build on very vanilla technology and then they customize that for their own situation. We see the same happening for stablecoins,” said Reginatto.

Stablecoins in 2025

The launch comes as the stablecoin sector commands attention in both the crypto and traditional finance worlds.

Two stablecoin legislature bills, the STABLE and GENIUS acts, are currently being reviewed by the U.S. Congress, and Circle is in the process of preparing for its initial public offering (IPO) in 2025. The IPO was initially scheduled for April but has been postponed for undisclosed reasons.

The total stablecoin market capitalization is also at an all-time high of $233 billion, up 51% over the last year.

Chris Dixon, a managing partner at Ai16z Crypto, published an article on X on April 9, sharing his thoughts on current and future iterations of stablecoins.

“Today, the global financial system resembles a patchwork of corporate networks: centralized, closed, and extractive….These networks levy unnecessary taxes on commerce and curb innovation. They turn what should be neutral plumbing into high-friction bottlenecks,” he wrote.

“Stablecoins offer a clean-slate alternative. Instead of stitching together clunky, costly, and outdated systems, stablecoins flow seamlessly on top of global blockchains. These systems are programmable, composable, and designed to scale across borders,” Dixon concluded.