AI companies have rewritten the expansion playbook. Instead of scaling locally first, they're launching as global businesses from Day 1, hitting $1M ARR in just 11.5 months on average (4 months faster than SaaS companies).
But here's the hidden cost of that global growth:
Most merchants don't realize they're paying ~5.4% in fees on international transactions:
- 2.9% + 30 cents base fee for cards
- +1.5% for international cards
- +1% for currency conversion
Fast-growing startups often don't even track these costs. Money shows up, they don't dig into the "at what cost."
The stablecoin opportunity
Stablecoin payments are typically ~4% cheaper than traditional payments -- that's an 80% cost reduction.
Here is the back of the envelope processing fee math for a $10M MRR company:
- Traditional fees: $540K/month
- With 20% of customers paying via stablecoins (what we see at Loop): $462K/month
- Monthly savings: $78K ($936K annually)
That's nearly $1M back in your pocket. And that doesn't include savings from faster settlement or the growth from net new customers unlocked by offering additional payment options.
The integration is straightforward. The savings are immediate.
For AI companies scaling globally, every percentage point matters.