Original Author: angelilu, Foresight News

The "top-tier startup incubator," Y Combinator (YC), which has successfully incubated companies like Airbnb, Stripe, and Coinbase, announced on February 3 that starting in the spring of 2026, startups it funds can choose to receive the $500,000 investment in USDC stablecoin. This is also the first time YC has officially announced the option to invest using stablecoins.

From Bystander to Participant

In 2012, when YC invested in Coinbase, the price of Bitcoin was only between $5 and $13. In the following 14 years, although YC continued to invest in nearly 100 crypto companies, the investment funds were still transferred through traditional banks.

An important reason for YC's change was the passage of the U.S. "GENIUS Act" in July 2025. This bill established a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins, requiring 1:1 reserve support and granting holders redemption rights. The arrival of compliance certainty eliminated the biggest obstacle for top institutions to adopt cryptocurrencies. Only seven months later, YC announced a stablecoin payment option.

The true significance of this move lies in YC "using" stablecoins themselves. When an institution is willing to migrate its core business processes to new technology, this is a true vote of confidence. From investors to users, from observers to participants, YC completed a complete role transformation in 14 years.

The benefits of investing with stablecoins first lie in efficiency. Imagine an Indian startup receiving a $500,000 investment from YC—if using a traditional wire transfer, it might pay thousands of dollars in fees and wait 3 to 7 days; if using USDC, the cost is almost zero, and the funds arrive in 1 second.

In addition, YC's decision is also based on a realistic assessment: the new generation of entrepreneurs is already "Crypto Native." YC stated that in the companies it invests in, the practical application of stablecoins is continuously growing, especially in markets such as India and Latin America.

Startups including Aspora and DolarApp are already using stablecoins to help customers transfer and store funds more efficiently in regions where traditional banking infrastructure is limited or costly. To align with this trend, YC has specifically emphasized support for stablecoins on the Ethereum, Base, and Solana blockchains, allowing global entrepreneurs to choose the most suitable payment path for themselves.

People with sharp insight have already realized that YC is not vaguely referring to the use of stablecoins, but specifically mentions the use of USDC. Although USDC's market value is less than that of USDT, it is issued by Circle, a U.S.-based company, and is regulated by the Federal Reserve and state authorities. As a benchmark for Silicon Valley venture capital, YC must ensure that every penny complies with U.S. regulatory requirements.

Also, don't forget that YC invested in Coinbase in 2012, and Coinbase is one of the co-initiators of USDC. Moreover, Nemil Dalal, the partner at YC in charge of crypto business, was previously the product director at Coinbase. This "kinship" might also be why YC naturally trusts and supports the USDC ecosystem more.

In fact, using stablecoins is not new in the crypto VC circle, with firms like Paradigm or a16z Crypto having been using them on a case-by-case basis for a long time. But YC's breakthrough lies in the fact that it is the "godfather of mainstream VC," and over 90% of the projects it invests in are AI, enterprise services, or consumer products, not crypto companies.

Previously, VCs used stablecoins often as a "desperate move" because founders couldn't open USD accounts; but now, YC actively includes this option into the standard contract template for every founder. Whether you're building a large model or biopharma, as long as you want, you can directly receive USDC. This procedural and standardized action marks that the VC industry is experiencing its own "Nokia moment"—the traditional transfer model is being dimensionally outcompeted.

Will other VCs follow?

Currently, the attitudes of top VCs in Silicon Valley toward crypto are diverging. a16z crypto represents the "radical" faction, raising $15 billion in early 2026, focusing on investments in AI and crypto; whereas YC represents the "pragmatic" faction, entering through payments, not radical but extremely steady.

More traditional VCs may still be watching from the sidelines, but history provides a clear reference. Traditional financial institutions usually take 3 to 5 years to move from skepticism to embracing new trends: Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan both went through a process of initially calling it "fraud" and later launching related businesses.

According to the a16z report, 90% of current financial institutions are integrating stablecoins. The trading volume of stablecoins reached $46 trillion in 2025, nearly three times that of Visa. Market forecasts predict that the circulation of stablecoins will exceed $1 trillion by 2026. Behind these numbers lies an irreversible trend. YC's decision may just be one node in the wave of stablecoins.

The YC Spring 2026 startup incubation program is now open for applications, and the incubation program will take place in San Francisco from April to June. The application deadline is 12:00 PM Pacific Time on February 10, and applicants who submit before the deadline will receive results by March 13.

The "Fintech 3.0" initiative launched by YC in September 2025 in collaboration with Base and Coinbase Ventures emphasizes the desire to fund on-chain startup projects in the following areas: stablecoin applications, tokenization and trading (new credit markets, on-chain capital formation, new trading interfaces), Apps and Agents (including social, financial, collaborative, gaming, etc.).

Fourteen years ago, YC investing in Coinbase was a bet on the future; fourteen years later, YC using USDC is becoming the future.

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