Zodia Markets Partners With Fireblocks to Make Cross-Border Payments More Efficient

Standard Chartered-backed crypto exchange and brokerage Zodia Markets and crypto custody technology provider Fireblocks have partnered to improve cross-border payments.

In an announcement, UK-based Zodia Markets said the collaboration will address banking challenges and improve efficiency by allowing value transfer utilizing digital assets.

“Cross-border payments between many jurisdictions suffer from slow transaction speeds, limited availability during business hours, high costs and a lack of transparency,” said Nick Philpott co-founder of Zodia Markets, in a press release.

“Stablecoins enable value transfer using the internet, granting corporate entities a competitive edge the internet provides to other industries today,” said Philpott.

The partnership involves the integration of Zodia Markets’ multi-currency digital asset execution capabilities, and the Fireblocks Network, a digital asset transfer platform for digital asset transactions allowing clients to transfer funds quickly.

Growth in Stablecoin Usage

Fireblocks identifies there’s growth in stablecoin usage. The firm has previously reported that 30% of Fireblocks clients pay in stablecoins, and that’s only set to rise.

“For some time now, we’ve witnessed a growth in adoption amongst our network to use stablecoins as a near-instant and cost-effective way to transfer value,” said Richard Astle, VP Business Lead Fireblocks Network, in a press release.

“The expansion to non-USD on/off ramps is also on the rise which makes this collaboration with Zodia Markets not just unique in its value proposition, but also marks the beginning of bringing FX on-chain,” adds Astle.

Fireblocks Hires New Execs

Fireblocks is gearing up for the crypto bull market and has recently expanded its team with new executive hires. The firm appointed Michal Ferguson as the company’s new chief marketing officer. Other key additions to the team, include Michael Levine from Payoneer as chief financial officer and Madan Gadde, formerly of FIS, as chief customer officer.

“The explosion of new innovations over the last six months has led to a ‘crypto renaissance’ that is spreading like wildfire across financial and non-financial sectors,” said Michael Shaulov, CEO of Fireblocks, in a press release.

“In welcoming Michal, the collective prowess of our leadership team drives us towards our goal of serving thousands of new businesses and equipping everyone with the tools they need to securely deliver new onchain apps, products and services at scale,” added Shaulov.