Circle Ventures invests in CrissCross to expand stablecoin payments across Africa

Why Circle Ventures invested

According to TechCabal, the investment was made through Stitch Group, CrissCross’s parent company, and will be used to expand the company’s stablecoin settlement infrastructure, deepen local payment connections, and grow its team supporting enterprise clients across Africa.

Circle Ventures’ Brian Schultz, Vice President of Corporate Development and Ventures, emphasized the role of stablecoins in enabling efficient cross-border payments. CrissCross’s infrastructure allows businesses to move value using stablecoins while recipients receive local currency directly into their bank accounts, bridging blockchain-based settlement with traditional fiat networks.

This investment marks Circle’s second major bet on African fintech in 2026. In July, Circle Ventures backed Flutterwave, the Nigerian payments unicorn, to expand USDC settlement across its platform. The move aligns with a broader trend of stablecoin adoption in Africa, where on-chain crypto value exceeded $205 billion between July 2024 and June 2025—a 52% year-on-year increase.

How CrissCross operates

CrissCross provides a single API for cross-border payments, collections, payouts, and currency exchange across more than 30 African markets, supporting over 20 currencies. Its platform allows businesses to collect payments via local methods such as bank transfers, mobile money, and cards, while enabling payouts directly to local bank accounts and mobile wallets.

The company’s treasury tools let businesses manage funds across multiple currencies, and its foreign exchange infrastructure supports conversions between local currencies, US dollars, and euros. CrissCross dynamically selects between stablecoin and fiat rails based on client needs, optimizing for speed, cost, and regulatory compliance.

CrissCross generates revenue from transaction fees and currency conversions, with pricing tailored to each customer’s markets, payment methods, and services used. Its customers include multinational enterprises, financial institutions, and platforms seeking to treat Africa as a unified market.

Competition in Africa’s stablecoin payments space

CrissCross is not alone in targeting stablecoin-powered payments in Africa. Flutterwave, which raised funding from Circle Ventures in July 2026, has integrated USDC settlement and partnered with Ripple, Polygon, and Tempo to build stablecoin infrastructure. In June 2026, Flutterwave also secured investment from Ripple as part of its Series E round.

Onafriq, another payments player, operates in over 40 African countries and has partnered with Conduit and Privy to develop regulated stablecoin-powered payment services. Yellow Card, a crypto exchange turned business-focused infrastructure provider, offers similar services, including stablecoin payment rails, fiat settlement, and local stablecoin issuance.

What this means

Lazyfounder analysis — our interpretation, not reported fact.

Circle Ventures’ investment in CrissCross signals growing confidence in stablecoin-based payment rails as a solution for Africa’s fragmented cross-border payments landscape. For founders and operators, this is a validation of the demand for infrastructure that bridges crypto and fiat systems, particularly in regions with high remittance volumes and currency volatility.

The move also highlights the competitive pressure in Africa’s stablecoin payments space. Companies like Flutterwave and Onafriq are already leveraging partnerships with global blockchain players to build similar infrastructure, meaning CrissCross will need to differentiate through execution, regulatory compliance, and customer experience. For operators, this is a reminder to assess whether stablecoin rails could reduce costs or improve speed for their cross-border transactions—especially in markets with limited fiat corridors.

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