Transak Raises $16M From IDG Capital, Tether to Scale Stablecoin Payment Network

Web3 payments infrastructure firm Transak has raised $16 million in a strategic funding round co-led by IDG Capital and Tether. The company plans to use the funds to expand its stablecoin payments stack and enter new markets.

The funding round comes at a time in which the stablecoin sector has been growing exponentially. DeFiLlama data shows in early 2024 it has a $130 billion market capitalization, which has since more than doubled to $270 billion. Transak says nearly 30% of its more than $2 billion in processed transactions originates from stablecoin flows.

The company’s CEO and co-founder Sami Start said in a press release shared with CoinDesk that scaling stablecoin adoption requires more than liquidity.

“Stablecoins are no longer just a crypto asset. They are now the rails for global value transfer,” Start said. “But making them usable at scale requires more than just liquidity,” he added.

Tether’s participation in the funding round is notable. The company’s flagship stablecoin, USDT currently accounts for more than 60% of the total market, DeFiLlama’s data shows.

The stablecoin issuer has been putting its dominance to use, investing in various ventures including Spanish crypto exchange Bit2Me, Italian football club Juventus, major Latin American producer Adecoagro, blockchain forensics firm Crystal Intelligence, YouTube competitor Rumble, and gold-focused investment firm Elemental Altus.

Transak’s funding round also saw participation from Primal Capital, 1kx, Protein Capital, Fuel Ventures, and others. The transaction was advised by FT Partners.

The company highlighted it holds licenses in multiple jurisdictions, including the United States (FinCEN), United Kingdom (FCA), European Union (VASP), Canada (FINTRAC), Australia (AUSTRAC) and India (FIU-IND).

Read more: Tether-Focused Blockchain Stable Raises $28M to Power Stablecoin Payments