Monad Acquires Portal Labs in Blockchain Payments Push

Monad Foundation, the organization behind high-speed layer-1 blockchain Monad, is acquiring stablecoin infrastructure platform Portal Labs in an effort to scale up blockchain-based payments.

Monad said the acquisition will accelerate its push into the stablecoin space and improve tools available for developers and fintechs building with digital dollars. Monad is a layer-1 blockchain compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and capable of over 10,000 transactions per second.

Portal, which offers embedded wallet infrastructure designed for stablecoin payments, will remain a separate brand operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary. Raj Parekh, Portal’s co-founder and a former executive at Visa’s global crypto division, is joining Monad as head of payments and stablecoins.

The news comes as stablecoins are having a breakthrough moment into the broader financial world, with fintechs and banks exploring ways to integrate the asset class for payments across borders.

Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency with prices tied to an external asset, predominantly to the U.S. dollar, and promise faster and cheaper transactions using blockchain rails compared to traiditional channels. Analysts at Global bank Citi projected that stablecoins could become a $3.7 trillion asset class by 2030 with regulatory support.

Acquisitions are also rising as the stablecoin space heats up. Payments firm Stripe has recently acquired stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge and wallet platform Privy to enhance its blockchain-powered payment capabilities.

“Payments are a killer use case for blockchains and present an exciting unlock for widespread crypto adoption,” said Keone Hon, co-founder and general manager at Monad Foundation, in a statement.

“Portal’s production-grade stablecoin rails will provide enterprises and developers with plug-and-play solutions to incorporate stablecoin payments into their platforms and apps,” he added.

Read more: Stablecoins Could Bring ‘ChatGPT’ Moment to Blockchain Adoption, Hit $3.7T by 2030: Citi