Xendit: From Failed Bitcoin Startup To Raising Over $500M

After a dramatic pivot from a failed Bitcoin startup at Y Combinator, Xendit has since raised over US$500 million since 2015, growing into a payments unicorn.

Founder and CEO Moses Lo joins us to share his 10-year journey, detailing their "simplicity, speed, and service" competitive edge, their expansion into a financing business, and the lessons learned from navigating Southeast Asia's fragmented markets.

We discuss:

• The early pivots from Bitcoin remittance to a payments powerhouse.

• Their "simplicity, speed, and service" strategy for winning in fragmented markets.

• The expansion into financing, underwriting loans against payment flows.

• Their strategic expansion from Southeast Asia into Latin America.

For founders and leaders in the tech space, this is a deep dive into navigating pivots, scaling in Southeast Asia, and tackling new markets.

Note: The US$70 billion annual payment processing figure cited in this episode was reported by Bloomberg, as republished by The Edge Malaysia on 24 October 2025 here. It looks to be the main source of this figure.

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