The $400B Fintech Gold Rush: Crypto Payment Rails
With crypto established as a legitimate asset class, held by ETFs and on the verge of inclusion in 401(k)s and retirement plans, the next leap is inevitable: spending it as effortlessly as cash. That shift isn't just a convenience upgrade; it's a multi-hundred-billion-dollar race to build the payment rails that let crypto flow through the same networks as fiat money.
That gold rush isn't about flashy apps or the next hot token. It is about the payment backbone, the underlying systems powering a financial transformation most people never see but everyone increasingly depends on.
The Last Mile Problem
Sarah's seamless experience masks a deeper reality: for all its progress, crypto's core challenge remains unresolved. You might hold thousands in Bitcoin, but try buying groceries and you'll hit a wall of friction that makes spending feel like solving a Rubik's Cube in the checkout line with a timer ticking down.
The solution isn't flashy; it's infrastructural. While consumer apps grab headlines and venture capital, the heavy lifting happens in the underlying systems: payment processors, compliance engines, and settlement networks that make crypto cards work at any merchant accepting traditional payment methods such as Visa, Mastercard, AmEx, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or PayPal.
Think about the hidden complexity behind Sarah's coffee purchase. Marqeta issued her Coinbase card. When she tapped to pay, Coinbase instantly converted her crypto to dollars and authorized the transaction. Visa's network carried the payment to Stripe, which processed it for the coffee shop. Seconds later, the merchant was paid. This entire chain handled conversion rates, compliance checks, and regulatory requirements automatically, making the complexity invisible and the experience effortless.
The economics are compelling. Card processing fees typically range from 1.5% to 3.5% of the purchase price. On Sarah's coffee ($5), that's roughly $0.07–$0.17 split among the players, small numbers at the transaction level, but massive at scale. Multiply by millions of daily transactions, and the incentives for controlling these rails become obvious.
From Tap to Settlement: The Invisible Ballet Behind Every Crypto Payment
McKinsey projects global fintech revenues will surge past $400 billion by 2028, growing 15% annually versus just 6% for traditional banking. The fastest-growing slice is the infrastructure layer: payment rails, custody platforms, and compliance systems. $150 billion to $205 billion in banking revenue has already shifted to these infrastructure providers.
It's a land grab for digital finance's foundations. Infrastructure players are locking down the pipes that move the money, competing to control the world's payment flows while the market is still taking shape.
Three Forces Driving The Infrastructure Gold Rush
Embedded Finance: Money Is Vanishing Into The Platforms
Loans from Shopify, insurance from Tesla, and payments through Uber. Financial services are no longer destinations; they're features hidden inside the apps and platforms we use every day.
The scale is staggering. Embedded finance is projected to handle $7.2 trillion in transaction volumes by 2030, larger than most national economies, and increasingly dependent on payment systems that can handle both fiat and crypto with equal ease. Amazon isn't just a retailer; it's a bank, lender, and insurer. Uber makes as much from payments as it does from rides. Shopify realized the real profit wasn't building websites, but processing the billions flowing through them.
All of this drives demand for financial infrastructure. Every app offering "buy now, pay later" or instant payouts needs card issuers like Marqeta, data connectors like Plaid, and processors like Adyen. These firms quietly capture a slice of every transaction, and the consumer never sees them.
Blockchain Becoming Pervasive
What began as a niche experiment is now mainstream money. With 659 million holders worldwide and 28% of U.S. adults owning digital assets, crypto has shifted from speculative bet to spendable wealth. That scale is fueling demand for infrastructure that can convert digital assets into everyday purchases seamlessly.
This shift is mirrored in traditional finance, where blockchain has leapt from crypto forums to bank boardrooms: JPMorgan processes over $2 billion a day through blockchain settlement, UBS runs "Digital Cash" for instant cross-border payments, and Visa's Tokenized Asset Platform with Mastercard's Multi-Token Network signals that blockchain-based payment rails are here to stay. Fireblocks secures over $10 trillion in digital asset transactions for major banks, ConsenSys powers 100 million wallets, and Alchemy became the "AWS of blockchain" for enterprise. Infrastructure providers are becoming indispensable.
AI Guards Every Transaction
AI eliminates decades of financial inefficiency. Every crypto payment triggers algorithms verifying wallet history, assessing risk, and optimizing conversion rates in under 200 milliseconds. AI can flag suspicious wallets mid-transaction or approve high-value payments instantly.
Juniper Research projects AI fraud detection spending will exceed $10 billion by 2027. But AI's impact extends beyond fraud: instant underwriting, real-time risk assessment and compliance automation. For infrastructure companies, AI creates competitive moats. Those with superior algorithms for crypto conversion and compliance automation will dominate as transaction volumes explode.
The Race For The Financial Stack
Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe already own the broad traditional finance highways, but crypto-specific middleware is what allows those highways to be used: the translation layer that connects wallets to card networks, merchant processors, and banking compliance systems. The real competition plays out in this split-second choreography: converting crypto into the language of traditional finance, moving it through currency conversion, risk checks, and regulatory reporting in milliseconds. Companies that master this choreography can capture outsized revenue at the exact moment old rails meet new money.
The prize isn't replacing banks or infrastructure; it's connecting seamlessly to it. Every crypto transaction needs traditional bridges, every wallet needs compliance, and every fintech needs banking partners. These connection builders position themselves as essential plumbing for finance's evolution.
Players Racing To Own The Rails
That translation layer isn't theoretical—it's already a battleground. From consumer-facing crypto cards to enterprise-grade banking APIs, companies are racing to own the critical points where digital assets meet traditional finance. Some are building mass-market ecosystems, others are focusing on specialized infrastructure, but all are competing for the same prize: becoming indispensable at the moment crypto hits the legacy rails.
Consumer Payments Layer
Major players like Crypto.com and Coinbase have built large crypto card ecosystems with tiered benefits, staking incentives, and broad merchant acceptance. While these giants focused on feature-rich platforms, BFinance bet on simplicity instead: what if spending crypto could be as easy as texting a friend? Each month, it processes $20 million through virtual Visa and Mastercard cards compatible with Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. Fees are simple: $10 to issue, 2 percent on top-ups, and $0.50 per transaction. Users can load major tokens and access eSIMs, crypto transfers, and bill payments, all inside Telegram.
Enterprise Infrastructure Tier
Firms like Fireblocks and Anchorage secure billions in digital assets for global banks, exchanges, and asset managers. Taking a different approach, OpenPayd bridge crypto and fiat with a single API offering IBANs, FX, SEPA, and Open Banking services across the UK and Europe. They provide regulatory-compliant rails without the licensing burden. Recent deals with Circle and Ripple enable real-time stablecoin ramps, FX conversion, and cross-border payments—unlocking trusted, bank-grade access to digital dollars and global liquidity.
Merchant Acceptance Layer
Established processors like BitPay and CoinPayments handle millions in monthly crypto transactions with multi-currency support and merchant integrations. By contrast, leaner platforms are winning adoption by streamlining features and simplifying merchant onboarding. CryptoProcessing by CoinsPaid, for example, powers hundreds of merchants globally and handles tens of millions in monthly volume. The platform supports 20+ cryptocurrencies, real-time fiat settlement, sub‑1.5 percent fees, automatic volatility protection, and no chargebacks. With a single API, fast onboarding, and built-in compliance, it removes friction for merchants integrating crypto-to-fiat payments.
Jason Gardner, founder of Marqeta, explains the infrastructure advantage: "I don't want to go compete with a Stripe or an Adyen... There are 3,000 competitors in that [acquiring] space, versus 200 to 300 in issuing and processing. The odds are in our favor."
Ultimately, they all rely on the same traditional card networks: Visa and Mastercard. The pattern is unmistakable: the companies controlling how digital value moves at the protocol layer, in the middleware, and at the edge of commerce are the ones shaping the financial stack of the future.
Regulations Create Winners And Losers
Compliance costs are soaring, with top-tier anti-money laundering systems running up to $50 million annually, effectively locking out smaller competitors and creating regulatory moats for established players.
MiCA implementation began on December 30, 2024, requiring full banking licenses for stablecoin issuers by July 2026. In the U.S., the GENIUS Act established a federal stablecoin framework, while Circle became America's first publicly traded stablecoin issuer with a $6.9 billion valuation.
Companies like Coinbase and Circle aren't just surviving new rules; they're helping write them, embedding themselves into the financial architecture. For leaders like Marqeta, Coinbase, and Circle, regulatory navigation isn't about avoiding risk; it's about shaping standards that could secure dominance for years. That's why well-capitalized incumbents with compliance teams and political influence are better positioned to turn regulation into a competitive edge.
What This Means For The Future
This infrastructure gold rush will reshape how money moves globally. Within five years, the distinction between crypto and traditional payments will blur completely. The companies building these rails today are positioning themselves to collect fees on trillions in future transaction volume.
For investors, the lesson is clear: while crypto prices grab headlines, the real value lies in the infrastructure enabling its use. For businesses, early adoption of these payment rails could provide competitive advantages. For consumers, this means financial services will become faster, more convenient, and more seamlessly integrated into daily life. Most importantly, they'll finally be able to spend their crypto holdings as easily as swiping a debit card.
In fintech's gold rush, the prize isn't the next winning coin; it's controlling the milliseconds between tap and settlement. In finance's new operating system, the infrastructure isn't just king, it's the kingdom. The biggest fortunes will go to those quietly building the invisible highways the rest of us use without ever seeing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
From SEO to AIO: Building the Business Blueprint for OnlineAdvantages.digital's AI Search Era
MOORESVILLE, N.C., Aug. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Online Advantages today released Part 2 of its 60-day public case study documenting the transformation from a traditional SEO agency into an AIO-first, AI-powered, automation-driven marketing firm. Titled From SEO to AIO: Building the Business Blueprint for AI Search Era, this installment focuses on defining the agency's updated service lineup, integrating automation tools, and setting measurable goals for the 60-day reinvention journey. "This stage is all about clarity," said Matt Maglodi, founder of Online Advantages. "Before we touch the new website, we need to know exactly what we're offering, which services we're keeping from traditional SEO, and what new capabilities we'll bring into the AI search era." In Part 2, Online Advantages outlines: Core services for the AI search landscape, including AI Overviews optimization, semantic search content, automation workflows, and advanced analytics. Legacy SEO tactics that still deliver ROI in 2025. Key performance goals to hit before the 60-day transformation is complete. Part 2 of the series is live now: About Online AdvantagesFounded in 2012, Online Advantages helps businesses grow through innovative SEO, content marketing, and marketing automation strategies. Now entering a new era as the agency is committed to helping clients dominate both traditional search and AI-driven search results. View original content: SOURCE Online Advantages
New York Times
30 minutes ago
- New York Times
Trump Is Turning Us Into a Doddering Industrial Giant
The American economy seems to be slowing. Although the unemployment rate remains low, the jobs report released this month showed that the U.S. labor market has essentially been stalled since President Trump foisted 'Liberation Day' on us in April. Yes, it's true, the artificial intelligence sector remains white-hot, but once you look beyond it, the weather is chillier — the manufacturing sector may be shrinking, home building is slowing and most employment growth is happening in just one industry: health care. Perhaps this slowdown will soon reverse. But nearly seven months into his presidency, it's now clear that Mr. Trump and his officials' tax and trade policy — and their hatred for next-generation energy technologies — is distorting and, increasingly, robbing the economy of its complexity. And if he keeps at it, Mr. Trump will demote America into a deindustrialized power that relies on technology developed elsewhere and doesn't know how to sell much more than crypto, soybeans and petroleum products. You can see this, first, because Mr. Trump and his officials are waging a war on electricity infrastructure. This campaign is primarily driven by their opposition to the solar and wind farms that they associate with their foils, the Democrats. Even as electricity has clearly become more important to the economy — and even as the country's biggest technology firms strive to secure any spare electron for their new metropolis-size data centers — Mr. Trump and his team have begun a regulatory coup to smother new power development. That war began, of course, with Mr. Trump's signature domestic policy law, which pinched off long-running tax credits for wind and solar energy. But it does not stop there. In the past few weeks, the Trump administration has started an all-out war on renewable energy. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has weaponized his department's permitting process to slow down wind, solar and battery projects nationwide — every step of every federal permit for renewable energy must now pass under the eye of some political appointee. Another recent order has suggested that the federal government may essentially ban wind and solar farms from public land. A separate Transportation Department policy could even restrict companies' ability to build private wind farms on private land. At the same time, Chris Wright, the energy secretary, has killed federal financing for the Grain Belt Express transmission project, an electricity megaproject that was set to zip 5,000 megawatts of power across the Great Plains. Although the power line was fully permitted and approved, it had grown unpopular with some Missouri farmers, and thus with the Republican senator Josh Hawley. In other moods and moments, Mr. Wright has said that the country must build more power lines, not fewer. But in stranding the project, Mr. Wright has endangered a cheap new power supply and damaged the government's credibility. As long as he governs, executives cannot trust the Energy Department to keep its promises. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
30 minutes ago
- New York Times
There Is a Specter Haunting Trump's Economy: Stagflation
Since President Trump took office, economists have been waiting for his policies to work their way through the U.S. economy and reveal their consequences. The soft data, mostly surveys of consumers and businesses that track how people feel about the economy, turned down sharply months ago, while the hard data — jobs, G.D.P. growth, inflation — all seemed fine. But recently, a telling series of hard economic data rolled in that has rightfully raised alarm bells about slowing growth and increased inflation — a dreaded economic combination known as stagflation. Mr. Trump's tariffs are now clearly fueling inflation, particularly in goods such as home appliances, cars and food. In the first six months of the year, real (that is, inflation-adjusted) consumer spending, the main driver behind business cycles and robust economic expansion, barely grew, after rising 3 percent last year. G.D.P. growth slowed by about half, to 1.2 percent this year from 2.5 percent last year. When overall growth falls that sharply, the labor market tends to follow, which is precisely what happened: Job growth, at 35,000 per month on average between May and July, is dangerously close to stall speed. While presidents always take credit for good economic news and try to deflect bad news (in this president's case, by firing the messenger who delivered it), it's often hard to link what's going on in the economy to the current administration. Not this time. Whether it's historically high tariffs that never quite seem to stabilize, deportations that threaten to seriously disrupt labor supply in sectors like construction and health services, or a reverse-Robin Hood, budget-busting bill that takes money away from those most likely to spend it, Mr. Trump's policies have pushed economic uncertainty to levels last seen during the onset of the pandemic. This uncertainty has damped investment, hiring and consumption, while the tariffs increase prices. In other words: stagflation. For many American adults, the specter of stagflation may conjure thoughts of the 1970s. But if Mr. Trump's stagflation continues to grow, it will be different in one very important way: The economic damage will be almost entirely self-inflicted. In the '70s, stagflation was caused not by an unconstrained president but by 'exogenous shocks,' meaning big, unexpected disruptions originating from events outside the country and exacerbated by the inaction of the Federal Reserve to offset them. The biggest, and most famous, of these shocks involved the oil market. Because of the oil embargo the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries imposed on the United States in 1973 and the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the price of oil increased more than tenfold. As a result, by 1980, the United States was spending roughly six times as much on oil as it was in 1970. That change reverberated throughout the economy and caused inflation to reach a high of nearly 15 percent by the end of the decade. In what is now a famous horror story of monetary policy gone wrong, the Fed not only failed to respond to the rising inflationary pressures in the '70s; it actively made them worse. The reason was in part political: Arthur Burns yielded to pressure from the Nixon White House to disregard concerns about rising inflation and keep interest rates low to hold down unemployment. (Sound familiar?) The resulting stagflation crisis ended only when a new Fed chair, Paul Volcker, raised rates to almost 20 percent in 1980, leading to a deep and painful recession. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
