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{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"f69c725c-b16d-438e-83bd-a4949385aa48","kind":"publish","page_slug":"decaf","published_at":"2026-06-01T03:12:40.644Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Decaf","sections":[{"content":"Decaf is a consumer-facing crypto wallet and payments application available on iOS and Android, operating primarily on the Solana and Stellar blockchains. The platform enables users to store, send, receive, and cash out USDC and other stablecoins. A key feature is its integration with MoneyGram's global retail network, which allows users in over 184 countries to convert USDC to local fiat currency at approximately 350,000 MoneyGram locations. The product targets freelancers, remote workers, migrants, refugees, and underbanked populations in Latin America and Africa. Decaf covers on-chain transaction fees for users and charges a 1% fee on withdrawals according to its website, positioning itself against incumbent services such as PayPal. The platform also supports tokenized government bond investments, DeFi yield through Lulo lending, and a virtual Visa card for stablecoin spending. A separate Decaf/Stellar Disbursement Platform (SDP) product serves NGOs and employers for bulk stablecoin payroll disbursements. In April 2025, Decaf announced WhatsApp-based payment link creation, allowing users to generate invoices via messaging without a merchant account. As of early 2026, Decaf states goals of impacting one million users and saving over one billion USD in financial inefficiencies.","heading":"Overview and Product","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Get Paid Instantly via WhatsApp | Decaf Official Website","type":"official","url":"https://www.decaf.so/en"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Only Possible on Solana: Decaf | Solana Media","type":"news_article","url":"https://solana.com/news/only-possible-on-solana-decaf"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Why We Rebuilt Decaf: A Wallet for the Future of Finance | Medium","type":"official","url":"https://medium.com/@Decafpay/why-we-rebuilt-decaf-a-wallet-for-the-future-of-finance-42a097d1c954"}]},{"content":"Decaf has two publicly identified co-founders. Rick Martin is the CEO and co-founder; he has an active public LinkedIn profile and was recognized by Forbes as a 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur. Martin has spoken at Paris Blockchain Week 2024 and is publicly associated with the company's fundraising and partnership announcements. Fernanda Orduña Rangel is a co-founder and software developer responsible for product design and user experience; her background includes a computer science and engineering degree from Tecnológico de Monterrey and prior employment at Oracle as an Applications Developer from 2020 to 2021. The Stellar Development Foundation has profiled Rangel in a long-form interview. The company is described as having four total co-founders — three technical and one operations-focused — though the identities of the other two co-founders are not prominently disclosed in public sources. The partial team disclosure is a minor transparency gap but the two named founders have verified professional histories.","heading":"Team Transparency","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Rick Martin - Co-founder @ Decaf - Crunchbase","type":"other","url":"https://www.crunchbase.com/person/rick-martin-1e69"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Stellar | Decentralife: A Decade of Building Better with Fernanda Orduna Rangel, Decaf","type":"news_article","url":"https://stellar.org/blog/ecosystem/decentralife-fernanda-orduna-rangel-decaf"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Fernanda Orduña Rangel - Co-founder at Decaf | The Org","type":"other","url":"https://theorg.com/org/decaf/org-chart/fernanda-orduna-rangel"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Paris Blockchain Week Summit - Rick Martin Speaker Profile","type":"other","url":"https://www.parisblockchainweek.com/speakers-2024/martin-3"}]},{"content":"Decaf describes its wallet as non-custodial: the company states it does not hold or control user funds and does not act as a bank, exchange, or asset custodian. The wallet generates a key pair on the user's device at first login, with the private key encrypted locally and protected by biometric authentication or PIN. Social login options (Gmail, Apple) are available with encrypted key-splitting and recovery phrase mechanisms. The company's compliance page explicitly states that Decaf Wallet does not hold user funds and that users retain full responsibility for their private keys. The ramp architecture also avoids custodial risk: when using MoneyGram off-ramps, USDC is sent directly from the user's wallet to the ramp provider without passing through Decaf-controlled addresses, and fiat is then delivered from the ramp partner to the user's bank. KYC and AML monitoring for regulated fiat transactions is delegated to licensed partners such as MoneyGram, which hold the relevant financial licenses. The wallet code is closed-source; the GitHub organization (github.com/decafteam) holds only administrative and theme repositories. The absence of public smart contract or application code limits independent security verification, which is a moderate transparency concern for a non-custodial product that claims to manage key splitting.","heading":"Custody Model and Key Management","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Compliance Disclosures | Decaf Help Center","type":"official","url":"https://intercom.help/decaf/en/articles/11165042-compliance-disclosures"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Decaf Wallet's Non-Custodial Fiat Ramps — How They Work | Medium","type":"official","url":"https://medium.com/@Decafpay/decaf-wallets-non-custodial-fiat-ramps-how-they-work-c135d69bb68a"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Decaf Inc. GitHub Organization","type":"official","url":"https://github.com/decafteam"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Decaf | Circle Alliance Directory","type":"official","url":"https://partners.circle.com/partner/decaf"}]},{"content":"Decaf completed a seed funding round on November 9, 2022, raising approximately $5.94 million with MH Ventures as lead investor. Other participants in the seed round include Behind Genius Ventures (BGV), Big Brain Holdings, Hard Yaka, Restive Ventures, and 2Shares. In September 2023, Visa made a strategic investment in Decaf as part of the Visa Everywhere Initiative, with the round totaling approximately $3.39 million (categorized as grant or prize-related funding by Tracxn). Total disclosed funding across both rounds is approximately $9.3 million. The investor base includes credible institutional crypto-native funds (Hard Yaka, Big Brain Holdings) and a global financial network operator (Visa), which provides reputational validation. Visa's participation in particular reflects alignment with Decaf's stablecoin and emerging-markets thesis. The company is headquartered in Miami, FL, and was founded in 2022.","heading":"Funding and Investors","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Decaf - Raised Funding from 4 investors - Tracxn","type":"other","url":"https://tracxn.com/d/companies/decaf/__Lult1jMKrJlOtOR7NcvrOC0PrRMqhznI8Uiqug1KCjs/funding-and-investors"},{"credibility":3,"name":"Decaf - IT Company Profile, Funding Rounds and Investors - Bounce Watch","type":"other","url":"https://bouncewatch.com/explore/startup/decaf"}]},{"content":"Decaf has established formal partnerships with several prominent institutions. It is listed as a member of Circle's Alliance Directory, integrating Circle's USDC and Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP). The Stellar Development Foundation has featured Decaf in a case study documenting $200,000 in weekly USDC off-ramp volume and use across six continents. Decaf formally integrated with MoneyGram's crypto-to-cash service in April 2023, with Denelle Dixon (CEO, Stellar Development Foundation) publicly endorsing the collaboration. The platform was a finalist and participant in the Visa Everywhere Initiative's Women's Special Edition competition (2023), in which co-founder Fernanda Orduña Rangel represented the company. Decaf won Circle's Impact Pitch Competition at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. In the humanitarian and development sector, the International AIDS Society (IAS) partnered with Decaf and the Stellar Disbursement Platform to distribute daily living allowances to 248 scholarship recipients from over 50 countries at its 2025 Kigali conference. These institutional relationships with regulated financial entities provide meaningful third-party validation.","heading":"Partnerships and Institutional Recognition","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Decaf | Circle Alliance Directory","type":"official","url":"https://partners.circle.com/partner/decaf"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Stellar | The Onchain Effect - How Decaf is revolutionizing local economies","type":"news_article","url":"https://stellar.org/case-studies/decaf"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Decaf Integrates with Global Crypto-to-Cash Service Powered by MoneyGram and Stellar","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/161302/Decaf-Integrates-with-Global-CryptotoCash-Service-Powered-by-MoneyGram-and-Stellar"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Decaf Blog: IAS Conference 2025 Scholarship Disbursements","type":"official","url":"https://www.decaf.so/en/blog/case-study-revolutionizing-scholarship-disbursements-at-ias-conference-2025-with-stellar-and-decaf"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Visa Everywhere Initiative 2023 Finalists | Visa Newsroom","type":"official","url":"https://usa.visa.com/about-visa/newsroom/press-releases.releaseId.19941.html"}]},{"content":"Decaf's published compliance disclosures state that the company adheres to applicable AML and CTF guidelines and delegates KYC and transaction monitoring obligations to licensed third-party ramp providers. The company's official website and compliance page explicitly disclaim acting as a bank, exchange, or asset custodian. No specific financial licenses or regulatory registrations are disclosed by Decaf itself; the company states it relies on partner institutions in each jurisdiction to satisfy licensing requirements. No SEC enforcement actions, CFTC proceedings, or DOJ investigations involving Decaf have been identified. The company has not appeared in OFAC sanctions lists. The regulatory model — operating as a non-custodial infrastructure layer while routing regulated fiat transactions through licensed partners — is common in the stablecoin wallet sector but means Decaf's compliance posture depends substantially on the strength of its partners' compliance programs rather than direct regulatory oversight. This creates a moderate regulatory uncertainty for users in jurisdictions with stricter money transmission requirements.","heading":"Regulatory and Compliance Posture","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Compliance Disclosures | Decaf Help Center","type":"official","url":"https://intercom.help/decaf/en/articles/11165042-compliance-disclosures"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Privacy Policy | Decaf","type":"official","url":"https://www.decaf.so/privacy"}]},{"content":"No publicly reported hacks, exploits, smart contract vulnerabilities, or fund losses involving Decaf have been identified. No reports of user fund misappropriation have been identified in Tier 1 or Tier 2 sources. Decaf's compliance disclosures reference SOC 2-compliant cloud infrastructure, TLS/SSL encryption in transit, AES-256 encryption at rest, role-based access controls, and periodic security audits, but no third-party audit reports are publicly linked or downloadable. The application is closed-source, which precludes independent community review of the key management or smart contract code. App store reviews (84 ratings on Apple App Store, 4.5/5 stars as of early 2026) include user reports of app crashes during transactions and general instability bugs, but these appear to be product quality issues rather than security incidents. The absence of a publicly available smart contract audit is a gap relative to more transparent DeFi protocols, though Decaf's non-custodial model reduces on-chain attack surface compared to custodial alternatives.","heading":"Security and Incidents","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Compliance Disclosures | Decaf Help Center","type":"official","url":"https://intercom.help/decaf/en/articles/11165042-compliance-disclosures"},{"credibility":3,"name":"Decaf Wallet App - App Store Reviews","type":"other","url":"https://apps.apple.com/us/app/decaf-wallet/id1616564038"},{"credibility":3,"name":"Decaf Wallet - Apps on Google Play","type":"other","url":"https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=so.decaf.wallet&hl=en_US"}]},{"content":"Decaf maintains an active presence on X (Twitter) under @Decaf_so and on LinkedIn. The company publishes a blog on Medium and maintains a help center via Intercom. User sentiment from available app store reviews is predominantly positive, with recurring praise for the MoneyGram cash-out functionality, customer support responsiveness, and overall usability. Negative reviews center on app stability bugs rather than trust or fund-safety concerns. The PAGA Initiative (Payments to Advance Growth for All) has published a case study on Decaf's work accelerating digital payments in Latin America and the Caribbean, providing independent third-party validation of its emerging-markets impact. There are no notable negative media campaigns, community boycotts, or coordinated user complaints found in public sources. The company does not have a presence on major scam-reporting aggregators such as the California DFPI Crypto Scam Tracker or ChainAbuse.","heading":"Reputation and Community Presence","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Decaf on X (@Decaf_so)","type":"official","url":"https://twitter.com/Decaf_so"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Payments to Advance Growth for All (PAGA) - Decaf Case Study","type":"research","url":"https://www.pagainitiative.org/case-decaf"},{"credibility":2,"name":"How Decaf App on Solana Plans to Onboard Millions of Unbanked Users in Emerging Markets to Crypto | DailyCoin","type":"news_article","url":"https://dailycoin.com/can-solanas-decaf-app-bring-the-unbanked-to-crypto/"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Get Paid Instantly via WhatsApp | Decaf Official Website","type":"official","url":"https://www.decaf.so/en"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Only Possible on Solana: Decaf | Solana Media","type":"news_article","url":"https://solana.com/news/only-possible-on-solana-decaf"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Why We Rebuilt Decaf: A Wallet for the Future of Finance | Medium","type":"official","url":"https://medium.com/@Decafpay/why-we-rebuilt-decaf-a-wallet-for-the-future-of-finance-42a097d1c954"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Stellar | Decentralife: Fernanda Orduna Rangel, Decaf","type":"news_article","url":"https://stellar.org/blog/ecosystem/decentralife-fernanda-orduna-rangel-decaf"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Stellar | The Onchain Effect - How Decaf is revolutionizing local economies","type":"news_article","url":"https://stellar.org/case-studies/decaf"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Decaf Integrates with Global Crypto-to-Cash Service Powered by MoneyGram and Stellar | NewsFile Corp","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/161302/Decaf-Integrates-with-Global-CryptotoCash-Service-Powered-by-MoneyGram-and-Stellar"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Decaf | Circle Alliance Directory","type":"official","url":"https://partners.circle.com/partner/decaf"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Compliance Disclosures | Decaf Help Center","type":"official","url":"https://intercom.help/decaf/en/articles/11165042-compliance-disclosures"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Privacy Policy | Decaf","type":"official","url":"https://www.decaf.so/privacy"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Decaf - Raised Funding from 4 investors - Tracxn","type":"other","url":"https://tracxn.com/d/companies/decaf/__Lult1jMKrJlOtOR7NcvrOC0PrRMqhznI8Uiqug1KCjs/funding-and-investors"},{"credibility":3,"name":"Decaf - IT Company Profile, Funding Rounds - Bounce Watch","type":"other","url":"https://bouncewatch.com/explore/startup/decaf"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Rick Martin - Co-founder @ Decaf - Crunchbase","type":"other","url":"https://www.crunchbase.com/person/rick-martin-1e69"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Decaf - Contacts, Employees - Crunchbase","type":"other","url":"https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/decaf/people"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Decaf Wallet's Non-Custodial Fiat Ramps | Medium","type":"official","url":"https://medium.com/@Decafpay/decaf-wallets-non-custodial-fiat-ramps-how-they-work-c135d69bb68a"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Decaf Inc. GitHub Organization","type":"official","url":"https://github.com/decafteam"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Payments to Advance Growth for All (PAGA) - Decaf Case Study","type":"research","url":"https://www.pagainitiative.org/case-decaf"},{"credibility":3,"name":"Decaf Wallet App - App Store","type":"other","url":"https://apps.apple.com/us/app/decaf-wallet/id1616564038"},{"credibility":3,"name":"Decaf Wallet - Google Play","type":"other","url":"https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=so.decaf.wallet&hl=en_US"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Decaf on X (@Decaf_so)","type":"official","url":"https://twitter.com/Decaf_so"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Decaf | LinkedIn","type":"official","url":"https://www.linkedin.com/company/decafpay"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Visa Everywhere Initiative 2023 Finalists | Visa Newsroom","type":"regulatory","url":"https://usa.visa.com/about-visa/newsroom/press-releases.releaseId.19941.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"How Decaf App on Solana Plans to Onboard Millions of Unbanked Users | DailyCoin","type":"news_article","url":"https://dailycoin.com/can-solanas-decaf-app-bring-the-unbanked-to-crypto/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Decaf Blog: IAS Conference 2025 Scholarship Disbursements","type":"official","url":"https://www.decaf.so/en/blog/case-study-revolutionizing-scholarship-disbursements-at-ias-conference-2025-with-stellar-and-decaf"}],"summary":"Decaf (decaf.so) is a non-custodial stablecoin wallet and payments platform built on Solana and Stellar, founded in 2022 and headquartered in Miami, FL, targeting emerging-market users who need low-cost cross-border payments and fiat cash-out. The company has raised a seed round from recognizable crypto-native and fintech investors including Visa, and has established formal partnerships with Circle, MoneyGram, and the Stellar Development Foundation. No regulatory actions, hacks, or fraud allegations have been identified as of the investigation date.","timeline":[{"date":"2022-01-01","event":"Decaf founded by Rick Martin and Fernanda Orduña Rangel (along with two other co-founders) in Miami, FL, initially as a crypto payments solution for everyday purchases in Latin America.","source":"Stellar Development Foundation Blog","source_url":"https://stellar.org/blog/ecosystem/decentralife-fernanda-orduna-rangel-decaf"},{"date":"2022-11-09","event":"Decaf completes seed funding round of approximately $5.94 million led by MH Ventures, with participation from Behind Genius Ventures, Big Brain Holdings, Hard Yaka, Restive Ventures, and 2Shares.","source":"Tracxn Company Profile","source_url":"https://tracxn.com/d/companies/decaf/__Lult1jMKrJlOtOR7NcvrOC0PrRMqhznI8Uiqug1KCjs/funding-and-investors"},{"date":"2023-04-05","event":"Decaf announces integration with MoneyGram and the Stellar Development Foundation's crypto-to-cash service, enabling USDC cash-in and cash-out at approximately 350,000 MoneyGram retail locations.","source":"NewsFile Corp Press Release","source_url":"https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/161302/Decaf-Integrates-with-Global-CryptotoCash-Service-Powered-by-MoneyGram-and-Stellar"},{"date":"2023-09-19","event":"Visa makes a strategic investment in Decaf, with total round proceeds reported at approximately $3.39 million. Decaf was a participant in the Visa Everywhere Initiative Women's Special Edition.","source":"Tracxn / Bounce Watch Company Profile","source_url":"https://tracxn.com/d/companies/decaf/__Lult1jMKrJlOtOR7NcvrOC0PrRMqhznI8Uiqug1KCjs/funding-and-investors"},{"date":"2024-01-01","event":"Decaf reports 400% month-over-month growth in USDC volume and reaches seven-figure monthly USDC transaction volumes. Expands user base to Africa alongside its existing Latin America presence.","source":"Rick Martin LinkedIn / Stellar Case Study","source_url":"https://stellar.org/case-studies/decaf"},{"date":"2025-01-01","event":"International AIDS Society (IAS) partners with Decaf and the Stellar Disbursement Platform to distribute daily living allowances to 248 scholarship recipients from over 50 countries at the IAS 2025 conference in Kigali, Rwanda.","source":"Decaf Blog","source_url":"https://www.decaf.so/en/blog/case-study-revolutionizing-scholarship-disbursements-at-ias-conference-2025-with-stellar-and-decaf"},{"date":"2025-04-14","event":"Decaf announces a rebuilt wallet architecture with WhatsApp-based payment link creation, Visa card integration, tokenized investment access, and a dual product offering (consumer wallet + organizational disbursement platform).","source":"Decaf on X / Medium","source_url":"https://x.com/Decaf_so/status/1912142146582327713"}]},"v":1}