Exodus Movement (EXOD), a publicly traded crypto wallet company, announced Monday the acquisition of Uruguay-based Grateful, a startup offering stablecoin-based payments for merchants.
The move aims to expand Exodus’ presence in Latin America and deepen its presence in commerce, particularly among gig workers and small businesses looking for faster, cheaper ways to get paid, Exodus CEO JP Richardson said in a press release.
Grateful’s software allows merchants to accept stablecoins through tools such as wallet-to-wallet payments, QR point-of-sale payment, and on-chain billing. The company also offers a dashboard to manage transactions and convert cryptocurrencies to local currencies. Exodus plans to integrate these features into its self-custodial wallet system, which supports major blockchains including Solana. And .
Exodus shares rose 5% on Monday amid a broader rebound in stocks tied to digital assets like Bitcoin. and other cryptos earned over the weekend.
The deal marks another entry in a growing list of crypto mergers and acquisitions aimed at creating payment infrastructure on blockchain networks, as stablecoins are increasingly in demand for global transactions. Earlier this year, payments company Stripe acquired stablecoin technology provider Bridge and wallet company Privy to strengthen its crypto payments stack. In another deal, the XDC network purchased Contour to transform it into a blockchain platform for stablecoin-based trade finance. The volume of stablecoin used for payments could reach $1 trillion annually by the end of the decade, driven by institutional adoption and regulatory clarity, Keyrock and Bitso predict.
“Grateful is a natural complement to our efforts to expand access to digital payments and cryptocurrencies in Latin America,” Richardson said. “The gig and creator economy is growing rapidly in emerging markets and stablecoin-based payment rails enable important tools such as invoicing, recurring payments and on-chain settlements.”
Aligning with the stablecoin payments trend, Exodus earlier this year unveiled a crypto Mastercard debit card with Baanx to allow customers to pay with USDT. And stable coins.
Read more: Stablecoin payments expected to exceed $1 billion annually by 2030, says market maker Keyrock
