Transak Raises $16M to Scale Developer-Friendly Stablecoin Payment Stack

Transak, the fiat-to-crypto infrastructure provider, said Tuesday it has closed a $16 million strategic funding round led by Tether and IDG Capital, a move the company says will accelerate its build-out of compliant, global stablecoin payment rails. The round also included participation from Primal Capital, 1kx, Protein Capital, CEiC, KX VC, 3KVC, Genting Ventures, Fuel Ventures and Umami Capital, with Financial Technology Partners (FT Partners) serving as exclusive advisor on the deal.

Founded to simplify fiat on- and off-ramping for applications across Web3, Transak positions itself at the center of what it calls the next phase of stablecoin adoption, when tokenized dollars and other pegged assets become the “transaction layer of the internet.” The company’s platform lets apps move users between fiat and stablecoins using local payment methods, cards, bank transfers and virtual IBANs through a single API, and it says more than 450 apps rely on its infrastructure.

“Stablecoins are no longer just a crypto asset. They are now the rails for global value transfer,” said Sami Start, Co-Founder and CEO of Transak. “But making them usable at scale requires more than just liquidity. It takes real infrastructure: compliance systems, KYC, fraud prevention, banking partnerships, and deep crypto market knowledge. That’s exactly what we’ve built, and this round helps us scale it globally.”

“Transak has built a robust and innovative platform that is making stablecoin access simpler, faster, and more reliable for people around the world,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether. “We believe stablecoins are rapidly becoming the backbone of digital payments, offering stability and efficiency that traditional systems often lack. By providing the critical infrastructure needed to support this transformation, Transak is accelerating adoption across both emerging and developed markets, bridging gaps in financial access, and enabling new opportunities for businesses and consumers alike.”

Stablecoins Are the Rails

The company said the fresh capital will be used to expand its stablecoin payments stack and accelerate expansion into new territories, including active efforts across the Middle East, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Transak pointed to tangible usage metrics to justify investor interest: the firm has processed more than $2 billion in transaction volume to date, and roughly 30% of that flow now runs through stablecoins, a sign, the company says, that stablecoins are already material to everyday fiat/crypto activity.

The startup operates in 75+ countries and says it holds regulatory approvals across key jurisdictions, including the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Canada, Australia and India. The transaction is also notable for the strategic nature of its backers. Tether, the issuer of USDT and a dominant presence in the stablecoin market, brings liquidity and token-level expertise; IDG Capital provides venture and market access in Asia and beyond.

Observers say having both a major stablecoin issuer and a global VC co-lead could help Transak stitch together the commercial and regulatory relationships required to make stablecoins usable at scale. Transak, which lists offices in Miami, London, Bengaluru, Dubai and Hong Kong, has been steadily expanding integrations and product capabilities.

Its stack combines regulated fiat rails, virtual accounts, real-time liquidity routing and compliance tooling that allow wallets, exchanges, fintechs and DeFi protocols to offer fiat-to-stablecoin flows without operating those rails themselves. For investors and customers alike, the pitch is clear: as stablecoins move from investment instruments to payment rails, the winners will be companies that can combine local compliance with developer-friendly APIs.

With competition intensifying in the fiat-onramp market from incumbents and newer specialty players, Transak’s raise adds fuel to a broader industry race to make tokenized money safe, compliant and frictionless for mainstream commerce. The company says today’s funding will help it expand market presence and product depth as stablecoins continue to gain traction in remittances, cross-border business, and embedded payments.