Sidebar: “Africa is the region that needs stablecoins the most,” Blockradar co-founder

We spoke with Morgan Williams, who, until late 2024, led Asia-Pacific expansion at Coinbase. She’s now the COO and co-founder of Blockradar, a company that builds wallet infrastructure enabling fintechs to offer non-custodial stablecoin products.

Williams shared insights on Blockradar’s launch out of beta, the rising importance of stablecoins in Africa, and what’s next for the team.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Talk us through your transition from Coinbase to Blockradar

MW: I first met Abdul while I was launching Base in Africa. We connected at one of my events in Kenya and stayed in touch. When he launched Blockradar, he reached out for support, and I joined as an advisor to assist with the go-to-market strategy.

That’s when I saw how talented Abdul is: breaking down the complexity of blockchain and building everything from scratch, without relying on third-party infrastructure, and that impressed me. I also noticed how genuinely excited users were about the product, and I knew there was something special about it.

With stablecoins taking off in 2024, even outpacing Visa and Mastercard, I felt this was the right product, at the right time, with the right team. I knew I couldn’t miss the opportunity.

Blockradar just came out of beta. What were the biggest behind-the-scenes challenges you faced before going live?

MW: Behind the scenes, the main challenge was preparing the system for growth. We built the system to work well initially, but we needed to ensure it was ready to scale as we expanded. The focus was on ensuring the foundation was solid enough to handle future demands without compromising the current user experience.

How? We reworked the management of specific resources behind the scenes to support high-volume operations without bottlenecks or increased latency. We also introduced fallback mechanisms to ensure reliability.

Can you share any African use cases or early partners already building on Blockradar’s infrastructure?

MW: One of the most exciting ones is Shiga. They’re a DeFi platform using our infrastructure to provide individuals and businesses across Africa access to stablecoins through non-custodial wallets and virtual accounts. It’s a safer and more efficient alternative to traditional peer-to-peer systems, which have been popular but can be risky or inefficient.

Another interesting one is Azza. They utilize our infrastructure to enable people to buy and sell cryptocurrency through a WhatsApp AI agent. It’s a simple, intuitive way for users to exchange local currency for stablecoins.

We’re also working with Graph, which uses Blockradar to support cross-border payments, currency conversion, and wallet management for B2B clients.

What unique factors make stablecoins particularly valuable in Africa compared to other regions?

MW: I think stablecoins are an invaluable solution in Africa because they help solve real problems like currency volatility, inefficient banking systems, and expensive remittances. African economies rely heavily on remittances, so they need to be affordable and reliable.

In my view, Africa is the region that needs stablecoins the most. You see similar inefficiencies in other places, like parts of Asia, but not at the same scale. From my own experience living here, moving money around, and traveling to Africa, it’s clear that stablecoins are a practical way for people to protect their wealth, access global markets, and get around traditional financial roadblocks.

Now that you’re out of beta, what’s the next big milestone for Blockradar — growth, partnerships, expansion, or something else entirely?

MW: Can I say everything? Honestly, I think they all work together. Partnerships help accelerate growth, and growth leads to expansion—they go hand in hand.

Right now, our core focus is building a full-stack offering so fintechs have a one-stop shop for everything they need. That means delivering the best possible features and really listening to what our customers want. If we get that right, the partnerships will follow, which will drive growth and, eventually, expansion. So yeah, everything matters.

How do you approach compliance and regulatory clarity when building infrastructure that handles stablecoins across various jurisdictions?

MW: For us, the key is staying flexible and responsive as the regulatory landscape evolves. That’s really the only way to make it work. We’ve seen different approaches—some regulators focus on consumer protection, others on encouraging innovation. It all depends on the priorities in each region.

In places like Nigeria, where the stance keeps shifting, our goal is to stay regulatory-ready. That means meeting compliance standards while still delivering on what customers need, both locally and globally.