4 ms·

Maybe a dumb question, but are stablecoins actually the cheapest way to send USD? This is a real problem for me: I have a house in Costa Rica, which I need to p

Maybe a dumb question, but are stablecoins actually the cheapest way to send USD? This is a real problem for me: I have a house in Costa Rica, which I need to pay for with US assets. So I have to make regular transfers from US accounts to Costa Rican accounts. Is there a way to do, say, $5,000 USD in US account -> stablecoin -> USD in Costa Rica account for less than $50, including all exchange and transaction fees?

iudotong 2y ago
Yes, we can help you do this with ShieldPay. We've helped onramp a seven-figure USD to stablecoin and then offramp directly into their bank at that fee. We're licensed, backed by a16z CSS, Kraken, YC founders. Feel free to email me at isaiah@getshield.xyz.
Ruphin 2y ago
It really depends if you can find a (cryptocurrency) exchange that lets you withdraw to a bank account in Costa Rica. If you can find one, you don't even need stablecoins. The way it will work is US Bank -> Deposit USD to US cryptocurrency exchange -> Trade USD for Bitcoin (or some other crypto that has cheap transfers, it doesn't really matter) -> Send Bitcoin from US cryptocurrency exchange to Costa Rica cryptocurrency exchange -> Trade Bitcoin for USD (or local currency) on Costa Rica cryptocurrency exchange -> Withdraw to Costa Rica local bank Theoretically, all of these steps can be done with less than ~$1 in fees. My banks and exchanges let me deposit for free and withdraw any arbitrary amount for 50 cents. Sending any arbitrary amount of cryptocurrency should be cheaper than that. The big question is if an exchange exists that lets you withdraw to Costa Rica banks, and what they charge for that.
wslh 2y ago
It all reduces to liquidity in both ends, no matter if they are stable coins (crypto), a foreign currency (fiat) or gold (real-asset). In Costa Rica (or elsewhere!) you will surely also have issues/high-fees with foreign currencies that are not in the top. If the liquidity problem is bot solved then find another way.
SahAssar 2y ago
I'm guessing not, since you need to exchange it in both countries. As I understand it the article is comparing "sending USD directly to another countries bank account" to "sending stablecoin to another wallet", so it completely skips any inconvenience and fees associated with getting USD in and out of the stablecoin.
scyclow 2y ago
It really depends on how expensive/easy it is to off board in your Costa Rican account. But the fees for getting it there should be minimal, if not a bit convoluted. Ultimately, the cheapest way is to buy an ETH L2 or Solana stable coin. I think you can exchange USD<>USDC on coinbase. Then you can transfer it wherever for a couple cents.
asdev 2y ago
I don't think you need stablecoins to do this, you just need a crypto exchange that supports withdrawing to your Costa Rican bank account

iudotong 2y ago

Yes, we can help you do this with ShieldPay. We've helped onramp a seven-figure USD to stablecoin and then offramp directly into their bank at that fee. We're licensed, backed by a16z CSS, Kraken, YC founders. Feel free to email me at isaiah@getshield.xyz.

Ruphin 2y ago

It really depends if you can find a (cryptocurrency) exchange that lets you withdraw to a bank account in Costa Rica. If you can find one, you don't even need stablecoins. The way it will work is US Bank -> Deposit USD to US cryptocurrency exchange -> Trade USD for Bitcoin (or some other crypto that has cheap transfers, it doesn't really matter) -> Send Bitcoin from US cryptocurrency exchange to Costa Rica cryptocurrency exchange -> Trade Bitcoin for USD (or local currency) on Costa Rica cryptocurrency exchange -> Withdraw to Costa Rica local bank Theoretically, all of these steps can be done with less than ~$1 in fees. My banks and exchanges let me deposit for free and withdraw any arbitrary amount for 50 cents. Sending any arbitrary amount of cryptocurrency should be cheaper than that. The big question is if an exchange exists that lets you withdraw to Costa Rica banks, and what they charge for that.

wslh 2y ago

It all reduces to liquidity in both ends, no matter if they are stable coins (crypto), a foreign currency (fiat) or gold (real-asset). In Costa Rica (or elsewhere!) you will surely also have issues/high-fees with foreign currencies that are not in the top. If the liquidity problem is bot solved then find another way.

SahAssar 2y ago

I'm guessing not, since you need to exchange it in both countries. As I understand it the article is comparing "sending USD directly to another countries bank account" to "sending stablecoin to another wallet", so it completely skips any inconvenience and fees associated with getting USD in and out of the stablecoin.

scyclow 2y ago

It really depends on how expensive/easy it is to off board in your Costa Rican account. But the fees for getting it there should be minimal, if not a bit convoluted. Ultimately, the cheapest way is to buy an ETH L2 or Solana stable coin. I think you can exchange USD<>USDC on coinbase. Then you can transfer it wherever for a couple cents.

asdev 2y ago

I don't think you need stablecoins to do this, you just need a crypto exchange that supports withdrawing to your Costa Rican bank account