Paxos Buys Fordefi to Strengthen Global Stablecoin and Crypto Custody Capabilities

Stablecoin issuer Paxos is widening its footprint in the crypto infrastructure space after acquiring Fordefi, a digital asset custody and wallet technology company. The deal, reported by Fortune to be worth more than 100 million dollars, marks Paxos’s latest move to sharpen its focus on secure, institutional-grade blockchain services.

Paxos Acquires Fordefi to Build the Custody Infrastructure Layer to Power the On-Chain Economy - Paxos | Newsroom

Paxos builds regulated blockchain and digital asset solutions for global leaders in financial services.

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Fordefi, founded in 2021 and based in New York and Tel Aviv, will keep operating as an independent business while Paxos works to fold its wallet-as-a-service technology into its platform. The startup has raised at least 28 million dollars since launch and built a strong reputation for its multi-party computation wallet system, which helps safeguard more than 120 billion dollars in monthly transaction volume.

Fordefi Secures $10M and Launches Wallet-as-a-Service Following Strong Institutional Growth and Web3 Adoption

Fordefi’s $10 million round was led by Electric Capital with new participation from Paxos and Alchemy, bringing the firm’s total seed raise to $28 million.

Fordefi logo- horizontal - color + darkCrest Saechao Crest leads the Marketing team at Fordefi. She loves to take long walks along the bay front with her dog, Stella.

Paxos said the integration will give clients a single trusted environment to issue stablecoins, tokenize assets, and design more complex payment systems. The company highlighted Fordefi’s strengths, including advanced transaction processing, a flexible policy engine, support for over 90 blockchains, and built-in compliance features.

The acquisition underscores Paxos’s role as a leading stablecoin provider. The company has been behind several branded stablecoins, including PayPal’s PYUSD, which now ranks as the sixth-largest dollar-pegged token with a market value of roughly 3.7 billion dollars.

This deal comes after an eventful year for Paxos. In August, the firm agreed to pay 26.5 million dollars to settle a long-running dispute with New York regulators tied to the 2018 launch of Binance USD. Earlier in the year, Paxos also purchased Finland-based Membrane Finance, giving the company a foothold in Europe under the MiCA regulatory framework.

Paxos’s latest move arrives amid a wave of consolidation in the crypto market. Major players like Coinbase and Stripe have been exploring acquisitions as they aim to secure stronger positions in the fast-growing stablecoin segment.