Sam Thapaliya (also known as Sambhab Thapaliya; born 28 June 1998) is a Nepalese entrepreneur and investor best known as the founder of Zebec Network, a financial-technology and blockchain project that began in 2021 as a continuous-settlement protocol on the Solana blockchain.[1][3] Before Zebec, he co-founded ASMI, a technology company focused on advertising, video analytics and interactive commerce. He has also been named as an inventor on United States patents assigned to Augmented and Segmented Media Interface Corp.[4]
Thapaliya's work with Zebec has centered on programmable payments, real-time payroll, treasury systems and infrastructure designed to connect blockchain-based settlement with conventional payment networks.[5][6] Business profiles list him as based in San Francisco, California.
Early life and education
Thapaliya was born on 28 June 1998 in Bharatpur, in Nepal's Chitwan region.[1] In interviews, he has described growing up on the outskirts of Chitwan during the Nepalese Civil War. He has said that his mother participated in a small peer-to-peer microfinance group that helped support the family.[7]
Thapaliya has said that he began learning computer programming at around the age of 13 and started developing enterprise resource planning software for local businesses.[7] In a 2022 interview with Circle, he recalled that he had not encountered a bank until around the same age, an experience he later connected with his interest in financial infrastructure.[5]
After completing his schooling in Nepal, Thapaliya moved to California in August 2017 to attend Menlo College.[8] In an interview with Hamro Katha, he described his field of study as management information systems.[8] Menlo College later identified him as a member of its class of 2020.[9]
Career
ASMI
While studying in California, Thapaliya co-founded ASMI (Augmented and Segmented Media Interface), a technology startup involved in advertising, video analytics and interactive digital commerce.[1] Crunchbase lists him as a co-founder and chief architect of the company from 2019.
Patent records under the name Sambhab Thapaliya identify him as the inventor of technology assigned to Augmented and Segmented Media Interface Corp. relating to in-video product placement and purchasing through augmented reality. Two related U.S. patents were granted in September and November 2020.[4]
Accounts of his Menlo College recognition use different names for the award. A 2022 profile reported that ASMI received the Menlo College 2020 Entrepreneurship and Innovation Award, while later profiles have described Thapaliya's 2020 recognition as Menlo College's Entrepreneur of the Year.[2][1]
Zebec Network
Founding and early development
Thapaliya founded Zebec in 2021. It launched on the Solana mainnet in November of that year as a protocol for continuous and real-time settlement of financial transactions.[3][10]
Thapaliya described the original idea as applying the concept of streaming to money. The system was designed to allow payments to move continuously rather than only at fixed intervals. Early use cases included employees receiving wages by the second, creators receiving royalties in real time and consumers making continuous subscription payments.[5] Zebec's early payroll product, Zebec Pay, used on-chain settlement and supported payments in USDC and other stablecoins.[10]
Thapaliya has said that the payroll problem was an important reason for creating Zebec. He argued that workers, particularly in markets where payment delays can create financial difficulties, could benefit from receiving money as it was earned rather than waiting for a weekly or monthly payroll cycle.[7]
Zebec launched after a $6 million funding round led by Breyer Capital, Republic Capital and Shima Capital, according to The Block.[3] In February 2022, the company raised a further $15 million in a Series A round led by Solana Ventures and Distributed Global. Participants included Circle, Coinbase Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Alameda Research.[3][10] Blockworks reported at the time that more than 250 projects were using or building on the protocol within several months of its launch.[10]
Separate from the venture rounds, Vanguard reported in April 2022 that private and public sales of Zebec's ZBC token generated approximately $28 million, consisting of $21 million from private sales and $7 million from public sales.[11]
Expansion and rebranding
Zebec expanded beyond its initial continuous-payment protocol into payroll, treasury management, payment cards and other financial-infrastructure products.[5][7] A 2025 profile by Beluga reported that the company was serving more than 200 corporate clients in the United States and had developed products including WageLink and the Nautilus blockchain infrastructure.[7]
In April 2024, Zebec Protocol announced a rebranding as Zebec Network, alongside the migration of its ZBC token to the ZBCN ticker. The company said the name change reflected an expanded product portfolio and infrastructure network beyond its original protocol.[12]
Traditional payments integration
By 2025 and 2026, Zebec was increasingly presenting its technology as infrastructure that could work alongside conventional payroll and banking systems rather than functioning only through blockchain networks.[6]
In December 2025, Payroll Growth Partners, part of the Zebec ecosystem, and National Payment Corporation (NatPay) announced a partnership involving the PayBridge payroll platform. The announced system combined NatPay's conventional direct-deposit infrastructure with Zebec's programmable payment rails and included connections to ACH, wire payments and FedNow. Zebec's announcement said NatPay processed more than $170 billion in payments annually for over 300,000 ACH clients.[6]
On 2 April 2026, Nacha announced that Zebec Network was one of 20 organizations that had joined its Payments Innovation Alliance during the first quarter of 2026. Nacha describes the Alliance as a cross-industry membership and engagement program for organizations involved in payments, financial services and technology.[13] Nacha reported that the ACH Network it governs handled 35.2 billion payments valued at $93 trillion during 2025.[13]
In June 2026, company-distributed material described these developments as part of Zebec's 2026 Institutional Compliance Initiative. The announcement stated that Zebec had worked on alignment with the ISO 20022 financial messaging standard and outlined plans involving regulatory documentation, enterprise connectivity and expansion of payment infrastructure.[14] The ISO 20022 alignment was described by Zebec as an internal technical alignment process rather than as an independent regulatory accreditation.[14]
Investment and advisory activities
In addition to founding companies, Thapaliya has worked as an angel investor. Crunchbase lists personal investments in Cedro Finance and Novastro. Profiles of Thapaliya have described his investment interests as including financial technology, Web3 and other emerging technology companies.[7]
Thapaliya also served as an early adviser to the founders of Movement Labs. In May 2025, CoinDesk reported on memoranda of understanding between Thapaliya and Movement Labs concerning MOVE-token allocations and services related to marketing, market-making and strategy. Movement Labs told CoinDesk that the agreements were exploratory and non-binding, while Thapaliya said they had not been voided and stated that he intended to pursue a contractual claim concerning one of the allocations.[15] Thapaliya separately denied having a financial interest in Movement Labs or the Movement Foundation and denied involvement in Movement's agreement with market maker Web3Port. He told CoinDesk that his advisory work had included exchange discussions, token-allocation strategy, market-maker selection and assistance with hiring.[15]
Recognition and public activities
In addition to his 2020 entrepreneurship recognition at Menlo College, Thapaliya was included in the E-Pal · Hurun US Under30s 2022, a list published by the Hurun Research Institute of entrepreneurs aged 30 or younger in the United States.[16]
Thapaliya has continued to take part in entrepreneurship activities connected with Menlo College. In April 2026, the college identified him as a 2020 alumnus and one of the judges for its inaugural Menlo Startup Pitch Competition.[9]
He has also discussed entrepreneurship, blockchain adoption and startup development in interviews. In a 2022 interview with Circle, he emphasized product development and community building as priorities for early-stage Web3 founders.[5]
See also
- Financial technology
- Blockchain
- Decentralized finance
- Solana (blockchain platform)
- Real-time payment
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Zebec Founder Sam Thapaliya Highlights the Growing Role of Real-Time Payments in Web3 Finance. TechBullion. 19 May 2026. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sam Thapaliya, the Nepalese Elon Musk. TechBullion. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Solana-based programmable cash stream protocol Zebec raises $15 million. The Block. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sambhab Thapaliya Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications. Justia Patents. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Circle Ventures.Founder Q&A with Sam Thapaliya of Zebec. Circle. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Partnership with NatPay to expand bank-grade payroll infrastructure with Zebec Web3 connectivity. Zebec. 2 December 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Beluga Spotlight: Sam Thapaliya, Founder of Zebec. Beluga. 19 February 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Sam Thapaliya Interview. Hamro Katha. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Student-Athletes Shine At 2026 Menlo Startup Pitch Competition. Menlo College. 28 April 2026. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Solana Payment Processor Raises $15M on Promise of Instant Settlements. Blockworks. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ Sam Thapaliya's Zebec Is A Name To Watch Out For With $28 Million Generated In Token Sales. Vanguard News. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ Zebec Announces Migration to ZBCN and Favorable Token Split to Boost Network Utility and Accessibility. Chainwire. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Nacha Welcomes 20 New Payments Innovation Alliance Members in First Quarter of 2026. Nacha. 2 April 2026. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Zebec Network outlines 2026 institutional compliance initiative. crypto.news. 25 June 2026. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Movement Labs Secretly Promised Advisers Millions in Tokens, Leaked Documents Show. CoinDesk. 15 May 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ Hurun US Under30s 2022. Hurun UK. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2026.