Two significant developments are accelerating the integration of cryptocurrency into mainstream payment systems. First, MoonPay, a leading provider of crypto payments and stablecoin infrastructure, has partnered with global payments platform Paysafe to power crypto payments within its ecosystem. The integration embeds stablecoin rails directly into Paysafe's platform, which processed $167 billion in transactions in 2025, enabling merchants to accept crypto alongside traditional payment methods like cards, digital wallets, and bank transfers.
The initial product, Pay with Crypto, allows customers of participating brands to fund their accounts using their preferred stablecoin or major cryptocurrency, where permitted. The solution supports e-commerce, financial services, retail, and iGaming operators. When a customer makes a deposit, the crypto is rapidly converted to U.S. dollars for the merchant. Ivan Soto-Wright, founder and CEO of MoonPay, stated, "Crypto rails are making payments faster and cheaper, and our job is to close the gap between this technology and real-world utility." Zak Cutler, president of global gaming at Paysafe, highlighted the shift, saying, "Cryptocurrency is evolving in the U.S. from an investment asset into a unit of value for payments."
In a parallel move, wallet provider Exodus has launched Exodus Pay, a groundbreaking self-custody application that allows users to spend Bitcoin and dollar-pegged stablecoins at millions of global merchants that accept Visa or Apple Pay. The app, launched in 2025, converts the selected cryptocurrency to fiat currency at the point of sale, meaning the merchant receives traditional payment while the user spends digital assets. This model maintains user sovereignty, as Exodus Pay never holds user funds; private keys remain exclusively with the user.
Key supported assets at launch include Bitcoin (BTC), USD Coin (USDC), and Tether (USDT). The launch reflects a broader industry trend of merging decentralized finance (DeFi) with traditional finance (TradFi) and follows a timeline of increasing crypto payment adoption since 2021. The service integrates with existing payment rails through partnerships with regulated fintech providers, requiring no changes from individual merchants. Security is paramount, with transaction signing occurring locally on the user's device.
