Mercuryo Hits Over 12mn Users as Enterprise Stablecoin Demand Surges

The Nicosia-headquartered firm, founded in 2018, now serves over 12mn users across 150-plus countries. It employs nearly 400 people in a decentralized model spanning offices in Europe, the US and Asia. Firstov relocated to New York last year to capitalize on surging US institutional interest in compliant onchain rails. Growjo.com and bitscale.ai have estimated the company's annual revenue in the region of $50mn, but Mercuryo declined to confirm this figure.

Stablecoin-powered enterprise shift gains traction

Mercuryo launched in 2019 primarily as an on-ramp and off-ramp provider – tools that enable users to convert between traditional fiat currencies such as the US dollar or euro and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH). Firstov said the company has since pivoted strongly toward businesses.

"It’s more enterprises, and this is who like this kind of arbitrage," he explained. "Enterprises are trying to learn what type of payment, fintech, self-custodial wallets, stablecoin infrastructure they need to incorporate into their existing business processes."

Companies are now looking to embed payment systems, fintech tools, self-custodial wallets (where users retain full control of their private keys rather than relying on a third-party custodian), and stablecoin infrastructure into existing operations, he said. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies engineered to hold a steady value, typically pegged at 1:1 to the US dollar – examples include USDC from Circle and USDT from Tether. They facilitate fast, low-cost global transfers outside traditional banking hours.

Mercuryo acts as both a consultant and an infrastructure layer. It draws upon its licences, banking relationships and more than 500 partners to close the discovery gap for traditional players entering blockchain. Greater regulatory clarity under Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework and anticipated US rules has made compliance more predictable, though licencing remains a steep hurdle for startups.

Mastercard Crypto Credential drives distribution

In Nov 2025, Mercuryo became the payment API provider and first to conduct onboarding/KYC for the roll-out of MasterCard’s Crypto Credential to self-custodial cryptocurrency wallets, one of the card network’s largest early blockchain moves. Firstov described the partnership as "super exciting."

The solution works like Plaid – the US financial data connector that lets apps securely access bank accounts without repeated logins – but for crypto. It enables verified self-custodial wallet users to interact across the Mastercard network using simple, human-readable usernames instead of long blockchain addresses. Polygon Labs – the team behind the Polygon blockchain – serves as the first native network supporting the feature. Pilots are active, with broader rollouts planned for 2026.

Complementary partnerships with Visa (for real-time off-ramping via Visa Direct), Revolut (a UK-based neobank offering banking and crypto services), and Ledger (a hardware wallet maker for cold crypto storage) are aimed at supporting broader distribution and user access.

Mercuryo positions itself against rivals such as MoonPay, Transak and Ramp Network through enterprise white-label products and compliance tooling, alongside card fees typically ranging between 0.95% and 4%. Its hybrid consulting model delivers deeper traditional finance access and higher conversion reliability in institutional mandates rather than competing purely on consumer volume.

RWAs, agentic payments, privacy rank as priorities

Real-world assets (RWAs) – tokenized versions of traditional assets such as real estate, bonds or funds recorded on a blockchain – represent the dominant 2026 narrative, Firstov said.

"RWAs is definitely like the big narrative, probably the largest narrative of this year," he noted. Companies evaluate these using discounted cash flow models to project revenue, expand jurisdictions and introduce new products to existing customers. Mercuryo supports RWA issuers with on-ramp and off-ramp infrastructure.

Agentic payments involve autonomous AI agents executing programmable stablecoin settlements. This approach reduces corporate bureaucracy and boosts composability – the ability of different financial tools to integrate and function together seamlessly.

Privacy remains a critical, under-discussed bottleneck. "Privacy and security for enterprises, for banks are really serious," Firstov emphasized. Banks and institutions prioritise security and liability protection when integrating public blockchains, which are transparent by design. Mercuryo addresses this through partnerships such as Ledger Enterprise.

2026 outlook centres on finance convergence

Looking ahead, Firstov said 2026 will be Mercuryo’s "enterprise year."

The company plans heavier corporate venture activity, offering strategic enterprise access and joint ventures to emerging fintech and payments startups rather than pure capital deployment. The goal is to accelerate stablecoin and tokenized asset adoption while helping traditional players select suitable partners.

Risks include banking partner concentration and execution challenges from a 400-person decentralized model spread across multiple jurisdictions. A shift in one or two key banking relationships could disrupt rails, even as MiCA compliance provides a current moat.

(Updated: headquarters amended to Nicosia from London; Mercuryo was the first to conduct onboarding/KYC as part of Mastercard’s Crypto Credential initiative, not the first issuer)