Paystand Acquires Bitwage to Promote Stablecoin Payments
B2B payment network Paystand has acquired Bitwage, a platform for stablecoin‑enabled cross‑border payouts.
The company says the deal, announced Tuesday (Nov. 11) will help it deliver “enterprise‑grade stablecoin settlement” and foreign exchange (FX) on its network, which has processed more than $20 billion in payment volume for upwards of 1,000 enterprises and more than one million businesses around the world.
“Stablecoins just crossed from crypto curiosity to regulated money movement,” Jeremy Almond, CEO of Paystand, said in a news release.
“What’s been missing is an enterprise‑scale network to apply them to real‑economy use cases — supplier payments, trade, logistics, energy, and manufacturing. Paystand + Bitwage connects stablecoin rails to the $100‑trillion B2B economy with the automation CFOs require — faster settlement, lower costs, and programmable treasury — without adding bank fees or complexity.”
The release noted that the acquisition is happening at a moment when stablecoin companies are becoming “mainstream financial plumbing,” pointing to a series of other industry acquisitions this year.
For example, Stripe purchased Bridge for $1.1 billion, while Ripple paid $1 billion for GTreasury. And BVNK is reportedly close to finalizing a $2.5 billion stablecoin infrastructure agreement with Coinbase after also holding talks with Mastercard.
Meanwhile, the release added, newfound regulatory clarity in the U.S., U.K, Asia and Europe has helped foster confidence among finance chiefs about stablecoin acceptance, giving the tokens a $300 billion-plus market cap.
Beyond the acquisitions, PYMNTS noted in a report last week, Visa has been building out its own global stablecoin settlement service, allowing its banking partners to settle cross-border stablecoin payments directly on public blockchains.
“Each move reflects a strategic recalibration designed not to replace fiat payments outright, but to expand the underlying tech stack necessary for orchestrating stablecoin payments at scale, while achieving cross-chain settlement and multi-chain compatibility,” that report said.
“If it sounds like FinTech firms are racing to build their own stablecoin infrastructure and orchestration layers, it’s because they just might be.”
Stablecoins today, the report continued, represent over $250 billion in circulating value, though that’s still a drop in the ocean of worldwide money movement. Holding them back is not, as they already power billions of dollars in volume each day, but orchestration.
“Most businesses don’t want to hold crypto wallets, deal with gas fees or expose themselves to digital asset regulation,” PYMNTS added. “They want the speed and savings of stablecoins with the familiarity of embedded payments systems.”
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