Exodus Movement (EXOD), a publicly traded crypto wallet company, said on Monday that it will acquire Uruguay-based Grateful, a startup that offers stablecoin-based payments for merchants.
The move aims to expand Exodus’ presence in Latin America and deepen its presence in commerce, particularly among freelancers and small businesses looking for faster and cheaper ways to receive payments, 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, point-of-sale QR 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-custody wallet system, which supports major blockchains including Solana. and .
Exodus shares rose 5% on Monday amid a broader rally among stocks related to digital assets like bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies gained over the weekend.
This deal marks another entry in a growing list of cryptocurrency mergers and acquisitions aimed at building payments 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, XDC Network bought Contour to turn it into a blockchain platform for stablecoin-based trade finance. The volume of stablecoins used for payments could reach $1 trillion annually by the end of the decade, driven by institutional adoption and regulatory clarity, Keyrock and Bitso projected.
“Grateful is a natural complement to our efforts to expand access to digital payments and cryptocurrencies in Latin America,” Richardson said. “The creator and gig economy is growing rapidly in emerging markets and stablecoin-based payment pathways enable important tools such as billing, recurring payments and on-chain settlements.”
Aligning with the stablecoin payment trend, Exodus earlier this year introduced a Mastercard crypto debit card with Baanx to allow customers to pay with USDT. and stablecoins.
Read more: Stablecoins payments projected to surpass $1 trillion annually by 2030, says market maker Keyrock
