KAST Appoints Former SEC Official to Lead Policy Communications as Company Targets US Market Growth

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--KAST, the global financial platform built on stablecoin rails, announced today that Stephanie Allen, a former senior advisor at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, has joined the company as Head of Corporate and Policy Communications.

Allen will work with Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Brad Jaffe, to help scale KAST’s external presence and reputation across media, policy stakeholders, and thought leaders as KAST builds a modern financial platform designed to make stablecoins practical and usable in everyday economic life. This is another significant hire for KAST, with the business bringing on board more than 200 people in the past year in engineering, product and compliance from across the fintech and crypto ecosystem.

“We’re excited to welcome Stephanie to the KAST team,” Jaffe said. “Her knowledge of the policy and regulatory landscape stemming from her leadership position at the SEC and deep U.S. public and private sector experience will help drive KAST’s momentum.”

Allen joins as KAST continues its ambitious growth plans, including the expansion of its product offering and the launch of KAST Business. The hire follows KAST’s record $80 million Series A funding round, which is being deployed to expand across North America, Latin America and the Middle East, as well as accelerating licensing, compliance, product development and headcount growth.

“With KAST, people can seamlessly send money all over the world,” Allen said. “I’m thrilled to join KAST as it embarks on its next stage of growth and am ready to jump in to show the value of a dependable platform that provides people everywhere with stability for all their financial needs.”

At the SEC, Allen served as a trusted advisor to leadership regarding external and internal communications strategies and as a spokesperson for the agency. During her tenure at the SEC her portfolio included media relations and speechwriting, as well as advising the Crypto Task Force. Prior to the SEC, she worked in various leadership roles, including heading communications and marketing for Promontory Financial Group, an IBM Company. Earlier in her career, she was a communications director for two U.S. Senators.

In 2025, global stablecoin transaction volume grew 72 percent, reaching more than $33 trillion, according to Artemis Analytics – exceeding the combined annual volume of the world’s largest credit card networks. Stable digital dollars are being used for payments, savings, payroll and cross-border settlement by individuals and businesses worldwide.

Founded in July 2024 by former Circle executive Raagulan Pathy, KAST provides USD-denominated accounts, global pay-ins and payouts to more than 170 countries, and a growing suite of consumer and business financial tools built on stablecoin rails rather than legacy settlement networks.