Tether and Gnosis have led a $4.4 million seed round for Sorted Wallet, aiming to accelerate stablecoin payment infrastructure and crypto access in emerging markets. The round includes $3.4 million in equity funding, with participation from Movement, Angel Invest Group, and angel investors such as the founders of RWA.io. Vox Solutions contributed an additional $1 million in strategic support.
Sorted Wallet’s ultra-lightweight 10MB application is designed for low-cost mobile devices, including feature phones and basic Android models. It has already surpassed 500,000 downloads across Africa (Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar), South Asia (Bangladesh), and parts of Central America (Mexico). The wallet supports Bitcoin, USDT, and other tokens, focusing on users who cannot afford smartphones or data plans.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that digital asset use cases have evolved from trading tools to real-life applications, promoting financial freedom. He emphasized the need to reach “hundreds of millions of people who cannot afford smartphones or data plans.” This investment is Tether’s second in Sorted Wallet, following a $1.5 million backing in September 2024, and aligns with its broader push into emerging-market remittance and payments—such as a recent strategic investment in remittance platform LemFi to integrate USDT into African and Asian corridors.
Gnosis investment partner Daniele Pinna highlighted Sorted Wallet’s role as a critical access layer for stablecoin payments in regions where traditional fintech struggles. Gnosis has increasingly focused on self-custody and stablecoin infrastructure, viewing the lightweight mobile approach as a way to extend crypto payments to telecom-accessible but underbanked areas.
Fresh capital will support expansion into additional Sub-Saharan African and South Asian markets, strengthen telecom integrations, and launch a new payment mechanism in May. The move underscores a broader industry shift toward mobile-first, stablecoin-powered financial inclusion solutions for populations bypassed by conventional banking.
