The landscape of global finance is undergoing a significant transformation, driven in large part by the burgeoning adoption of stablecoins. For many businesses, however, the practical integration of these dollar-pegged digital assets into their existing payment systems remains a complex challenge. Addressing this gap is London-based startup Velocity, which recently announced a $38 million Series A funding round aimed at simplifying this transition for a wide array of enterprises. This capital infusion underscores a growing consensus among investors that stablecoins are not just a niche financial instrument but a fundamental component of future payment infrastructure.
Velocity, founded in 2025, sees its mission as more than just facilitating transactions; it aims to accelerate them, hence its name. The company’s focus is on helping businesses that might not yet fully grasp the potential of stablecoins to streamline their operations, particularly in cross-border settlements. Rob Hadick, a general partner at Dragonfly, a venture capital firm with a notable track record in backing fiat-to-crypto bridge solutions, highlighted this focus, stating that Velocity is targeting companies currently unaware of how stablecoins can resolve their operational pain points. This perspective suggests a proactive approach to market education alongside technological provision.
The substantial Series A round saw leadership from both Dragonfly and Firstmark, with additional strategic investments from a diverse group of industry players. Coinbase, Capital One Ventures, QED Investors, Activant Capital, Ripple, and Wintermute all participated, signaling broad institutional confidence in Velocity’s model. While Velocity CEO Eric Queathem chose not to disclose the company’s valuation following this latest funding, the caliber of investors involved speaks volumes about the perceived market opportunity. Velocity’s client base, though unnamed, reportedly includes a mix of global merchants, payment providers, fintech firms, and established financial institutions, indicating a wide appeal for its solutions.
Queathem’s own background provides insight into the company’s genesis. His nearly decade-long tenure at payments technology giant WorldPay, where he spearheaded corporate strategy, acquisitions, and later their crypto and global payouts division, exposed him to the underlying inefficiencies of traditional banking rails. He observed that while consumer-facing payment experiences often appeared seamless, the infrastructure supporting these transactions, especially across borders, was often cumbersome. This firsthand experience likely fueled Velocity’s ambition to offer a more robust and efficient alternative to the legacy systems.
Velocity positions itself not against other nascent payment startups, but rather against the entrenched traditional banks and foreign exchange houses. Hadick characterized Velocity’s offering as a comprehensive suite of solutions, moving beyond simpler stablecoin use cases to address the more intricate treasury management and cross-border settlement demands of large corporations. Queathem echoed this, emphasizing that Velocity has engineered a platform designed to be both accessible and familiar to businesses transitioning to on-chain operations. This approach aims to minimize the learning curve and integrate stablecoin functionality seamlessly into existing enterprise workflows.
With operations already established across the United States, parts of Europe, and Australia, Velocity has clear expansion plans. The newly secured capital is earmarked for obtaining the necessary licenses to extend its reach into the burgeoning markets of Africa and Latin America. Beyond geographical expansion, the company intends to invest in infrastructure dedicated to secure asset custody and to develop innovative features, including yield-generating stablecoin products. This dual focus on market penetration and product development reflects an understanding of both the immediate operational needs of businesses and the evolving financial demands of the stablecoin ecosystem. The rapid growth of stablecoins over the past two years, extending their footprint from fintech into mainstream financial institutions, underscores the timeliness of Velocity’s efforts. Proponents consistently highlight the potential for faster cross-border payments and reduced transaction costs, benefits that venture investors have recognized by injecting hundreds of millions into the sector over the past year alone. This momentum was further evidenced by the June announcement from Open Standard, a consortium including Stripe, Visa, and BlackRock, detailing plans to launch its own stablecoin, signaling an accelerating race to define the future of digital payments.
