Exodus (EXOD) to Expand Crypto Payments in LatAm with Acquisition

Exodus Movement (EXOD), a publicly-traded crypto wallet firm, said on Monday it is acquiring Uruguay-based Grateful, a startup offering stablecoin-based payments for merchants.

The move aims to expand Exodus’ presence in Latin America and deepen its foothold in commerce, particularly among gig workers and small businesses looking for faster, cheaper ways to get paid, Exodus CEO JP Richardson said in a press release.

Grateful’s software lets merchants accept stablecoins through tools like wallet-to-wallet payments, QR point-of-sale checkout and onchain invoicing. The company also offers a dashboard to manage transactions and convert crypto into local currencies. Exodus plans to integrate these features into its self-custodial wallet system, which supports major blockchains including Solana SOL$168.19 and ARB$0.3036.

Exodus shares were up 5% on Monday amid a broader rebound among digital asset-related stocks as bitcoin BTC$106,017.66 and other cryptos gained over the weekend.

This deal marks another entry in a growing list of crypto M&A aiming to build payments infrastructure on blockchain networks as stablecoins are increasingly in demand for global transactions. Earlier this year, payments firm Stripe acquired stablecoin tech provider Bridge and wallet firm Privy to strengthen its crypto payment stack. In another deal, the XDC Network bought Contour to turn into a blockchain platform for stablecoin-based trade finance. Stablecoin volume used for payments could hit $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 for our efforts to expand access to digital payments and cryptocurrency in Latin America,” Richardson said. “The gig and creator economy is rapidly growing in emerging markets and stablecoin-based payment rails allow for important tools such as invoicing, recurring payments and on-chain settlements.”

Aligning with the stablecoin payment trend, Exodus earlier this year unveiled a Mastercard crypto debit card with Baanx to allow customers pay with USDT USDT$0.9998 and USDC$1.0000 stablecoins.

Read more: Stablecoin Payments Projected to Top $1T Annually by 2030, Market Maker Keyrock Says