Table of Contents
An in-depth look into the leading players guiding stablecoin infrastructure.
What You Need to Know:
- Stripe (via Bridge) is best for dev-friendly payouts across apps, APIs, and global commerce.
- BVNK is best for compliant enterprise rails for payroll, FX, and marketplaces.
- Circle leads in regulated payments, with $65B+ USDC and major partners like FIS, Shopify, and Finastra.
- M0 powers modular stablecoins for DAOs, fintechs, and DeFi builders.
- Ripple and Solowin are buying infrastructure with Rail and AlloyX for cross-border and RWA use.
With stablecoin volumes topping $8 trillion in 2024, the race is on to power the next generation of global settlement rails.
The companies below are building the infrastructure powering those trillions, designing systems for compliant, high-speed, and programmable digital currency.
As stablecoins have now become critical financial infrastructure, these firms are laying the foundation for the next generation of global value transfer.
Market Leader
Circle (USDC)
Circle doesn’t need any introduction, but let’s take a look at what they’ve been up to lately.
USDC in circulation surged 90% year-over-year, from around $32 billion to $61.3 billion by Q2 2025, and continued rising to $65.2 billion by August 10.
Circle recently announced rolling out its Arc blockchain, an enterprise-focused L1 tailored for stablecoin payments, FX, and capital markets, and forging partnerships to integrate USDC rails into global banking systems.
They’ve also been a fundamental part for enabling top corporations to integrate stablecoins such as:
- Finastra - Finastra powers Global PAYplus, which handles roughly $5 trillion in daily cross-border payment flows.
- FIS - As of July 2025, FIS customers (banks across the U.S.) can transact in USDC via Circle’s regulated infrastructure.
- Shopify - As of mid-2025, Shopify allows merchants to accept USDC directly, leveraging integrations with Coinbase and Stripe.
Developer-Focused and Commerce-Driven Players
Bridge (Now Part of Stripe)
In early 2025, Stripe made headlines with its $1.1 billion acquisition of Bridge, an API-first platform enabling the issuance, conversion, custody, and payout of stablecoins.
The move sent a strong signal: stablecoin infrastructure is no longer a DeFi curiosity, it’s a payments utility.
With this acquisition, Stripe quietly became one of the most influential players in bringing dollar-backed crypto to the mainstream.
Bridge’s value proposition lies in simplicity and compliance. The platform allows developers to:
- Issue stablecoins with prebuilt KYC/AML modules.
- Convert between fiat and stablecoins via liquidity partners.
- Set up global wallet infrastructure with minimal code.
- Route funds across multiple chains (Ethereum, Base, Solana) and real-world endpoints (cards, bank accounts).
Why it matters: Stripe serves millions of merchants worldwide and handles hundreds of billions in volume. By embedding Bridge into its ecosystem, stablecoins become accessible not just to crypto natives, but to every Shopify store, SaaS startup, or NGO in a high-inflation economy.
BVNK: The Enterprise-Grade Stablecoin Engine
While Stripe is going broad, BVNK is going deep into enterprise infrastructure.
Based in London and licensed in the UK, EU, and South Africa, BVNK offers a compliance-first toolkit for businesses that want to embed stablecoins into their workflows without touching unregulated wallets or sketchy exchanges.
Core capabilities include:
- Global wallets: Multi-currency, multi-chain custody for fiat and stablecoins.
- Orchestration engine: Automate KYC, invoice generation, settlement, and split payments.
- Enterprise APIs: Plug-and-play rails for payroll, remittances, gaming payouts, and international marketplaces.
- Licensed infrastructure: BVNK operates under multiple VASP registrations and is pursuing e-money licenses in Europe.
In 2025, BVNK reported doubling its enterprise customer base and facilitating over $5 billion in annual stablecoin transactions, particularly in regulated markets like the UK, UAE, and South Africa.
Why it matters: BVNK is building the financial middleware for regulated businesses. It’s Stripe meets Fireblocks, built for CFOs who care more about tax compliance and speed than token prices.
M0: The Modular Stablecoin Stack for Web3 Builders
Unlike Bridge or BVNK, M0 is building in the opposite direction, toward decentralization, composability, and neutral issuance.
It’s a protocol, not a company. And it’s quietly becoming the go-to infrastructure layer for modular stablecoin creation.
Think of M0 as a “maker platform” for stablecoins: any protocol or fintech can mint a stablecoin backed by fiat, RWAs, or even on-chain yield, without needing to own custody, compliance, or market-making.
Key features:
- Composable contracts: Developers can build stablecoins with native rebase, yield-sharing, or FX logic.
- Plug-in architecture: Modules for collateral types, identity checks, or governance can be swapped like Lego bricks.
- Neutral protocol: M0 doesn’t compete with its users
Why it matters:While Tether and Circle race to capture issuance, M0 is enabling decentralization of that power. Its open design appeals to developers in LatAm, Southeast Asia, and Africa.
The Big Picture
What these three players represent is a widening of the stablecoin stack from monolithic issuers to modular infrastructure, programmable APIs, and compliance-native platforms.
- Bridge/Stripe is democratizing access and distribution.
- BVNK is institutionalizing stablecoin flows with licensed, plug-and-play financial operations.
- M0 is opening up programmable monetary instruments for a Web3-native world.
Strategic Acquisitions and Market Expansion
Rail (acquired by Ripple): The $200 million purchase grants Ripple regulated infrastructure for stablecoin issuance, especially bank-grade and cross-border payments.
AlloyX (now part of Solowin): A $350 million deal focused on real-world asset tokenization and stablecoin infrastructure in emerging markets.
MoonPay: Expanding stablecoin reach via consumer touchpoints like debit cards (in partnership with Mastercard) after acquiring fintech firm Iron.
Fiserv (FIUSD): Launching merchant-oriented stablecoin rails via Mastercard and Circle channels.
Final Word
The stablecoin race isn’t about who mints the most tokens, it’s about who builds the rails the world runs on.
Circle may be leading today, but the real competition is in who powers what’s next.
Related Reports
State of European Stablecoins: September 2025
China's 2026 Stablecoin Strategy
Solana Stablecoin Market Analysis: August 2025
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