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VanEck: Stablecoin Boom Fuels M&A Frenzy for Payments Bridge Firms
- Companies that serve as on-and-off ramps between traditional finance and crypto are becoming prime acquisition targets, according to VanEck Ventures.
- The demand for these companies is being driven by the growth of stablecoins, which have transitioned from niche assets to the backbone of payments and cross-border remittances.
- This trend is supported by recent acquisitions, as well as new regulatory clarity provided by the GENIUS Act in the US.
Stablecoins are giving new shine to one of crypto’s least glamorous corners: the on-and-off ramps that bridge digital assets with the traditional payments world.
In an exclusive interview, VanEck Ventures managing partner Juan Lopez told Decrypt that companies enabling cash-to-crypto swaps are now prime acquisition targets, as stablecoins shift from niche settlement tools to essentially the backbone of mainstream payments.
Stablecoins Outpacing Legacy Systems
Lopez argued that stablecoins, once designed to fix slow exchange settlement times, are powering new use cases: cross-border remittances, B2B transfers, and retail payments. He added that ramps, by holding licenses in multiple jurisdictions, can offer acquirers regulatory shortcuts and faster market entry. “It’s really a time-to-market value,” Lopez said.
On-and-off ramp companies initially were the ones that were connecting the legacy payment systems with the sort of blockchain-adjacent systems that exchanges pioneered. Now they can go from simply calling themselves on-and-off ramps to full-fledged payments providers built on this really novel infrastructure, which is a lot sexier.
Juan Lopez, VanEck Recall that report from late June showcasing how stablecoins have processed more on-chain volume than Visa and Mastercard. Noam Hurwitz, head of engineering at Alchemy, said stablecoins are “the default settlement layer for the internet”.
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The acquisition spree has already begun. Just weeks ago, Ripple announced a $200 million purchase of Toronto-based Rail, as Crypto News Australia reported. Similarly, a few months ago, Stripe reintroduced crypto payments with USDC on several blockchains, including Solana and Ethereum.
The surge in deal activity coincides with new regulatory clarity. The GENIUS Act, passed last month in the US, established the country’s first federal framework for stablecoins.
Lopez said the combination of legislation, bank involvement, and ramp consolidation is laying the foundation for stablecoins to move into everyday finance. What began as back-end plumbing for crypto exchanges, he suggested, is evolving into the payment rails of the next decade.
Author
José Oramas
José is a journalist and translator with a keen interest in blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
