Polybase
Payy (formerly Polybase) operates a zero-knowledge Ethereum Layer 2 rollup enabling private-by-default stablecoin transactions, serving fintechs, wallets, and institutional users through consumer apps and developer infrastructure.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Polybase does
Payy (formerly Polybase) is a privacy-focused stablecoin payment infrastructure company building on Ethereum. Its core product is Payy Network, a Layer 2 rollup that uses zero-knowledge proofs to make stablecoin transactions private by default, combining UTXO-based privacy primitives with EVM compatibility and supporting USDC as the primary settlement asset. The network claims sub-100ms block times and 10,000 TPS theoretical throughput via four-layer recursive proof aggregation, and is battle-tested with millions of transactions.
The product stack spans consumer-facing applications (Payy Wallet, Payy Card with Visa network integration, Cash Links for URL-based value transfer, and Private Payments) and a modular platform layer (PrivacyBridge for EVM boundary, Privacy Layer with ZK circuits, Provers, Sequencers, Smirk Tree, Polylang smart contract language, Payy Transactions, Key Management System, and Solid Consensus protocol). Developers integrate via the @payy/client TypeScript SDK, which ships adapters for viem and ethers. Target customers are fintechs (Rain, Toku, MintStars), wallets and exchanges, and institutional users needing confidential rails for payroll, treasury, vendor payments, and card spend.
Payy monetizes through three streams: transaction fees on the Payy Network, platform/developer service fees from SDK and API usage, and card-related services through Payy Card. Go-to-market is API-first with direct enterprise sales and fintech partnerships; the company is venture-backed, with $8M total funding ($2M pre-seed in February 2023, $6M seed in March 2026 led by FirstMark Capital) and a team of 1–10 based in New York.
Polybase firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Polybase
- Legal name
- Payy
- Website
- https://polybase.xyz
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Payy (formerly Polybase) operates a zero-knowledge Ethereum Layer 2 rollup enabling private-by-default stablecoin transactions, serving fintechs, wallets, and institutional users through consumer apps and developer infrastructure.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Polybase industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Privacy-focused stablecoin payment infrastructure
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- On-Chain Payments & Stablecoin Infrastructure (Issuance, Rails, Treasury) (FSAGAMAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Crypto Payments & Stablecoin Settlement Platforms (BPAMAFAL), Enterprise Payments & Tokenized Money (stablecoins, tokenized deposits, CBDC rails) (FSAPAIAJ), Payments, Remittances & Merchant Acceptance (checkout, invoicing, payroll) (FSAPAEAE)
Keywords
Where Polybase is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Polybase business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Transaction fees: Revenue generated from transaction processing on the Payy Network private stablecoin rail
- Platform/Developer services: Fees from developer platform, SDK usage, and API services for building on Payy infrastructure
- Card services: Revenue from Payy Card spending conversions and related card services
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Polybase product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Polybase (operating as Payy) builds and sells privacy-focused stablecoin payment infrastructure on an Ethereum Layer 2 rollup. Its product suite includes Payy Network (the underlying private blockchain), Payy Wallet and Payy Card (consumer-facing apps for storing and spending stablecoins privately), Cash Links and Private Payments (transaction primitives), and Payy Client (a TypeScript SDK with viem and ethers adapters) for developers and fintechs to integrate private stablecoin rails. Customers include fintechs, wallets, exchanges, and enterprises that need confidential on-chain settlement for payroll, treasury, vendor payments, and card spend.
Product overview
Payy (formerly Polybase) is a privacy-focused stablecoin payment infrastructure company offering a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core consumer products include Payy Wallet (mobile wallet for stablecoin management), Payy Card (non-custodial Visa card for spending), Cash Links (URL-based value transfer), and Private Payments (ZK-powered transaction privacy). These are built on Payy Network, an Ethereum Layer 2 rollup with default privacy. The platform infrastructure consists of modular components: PrivacyBridge (EVM boundary for privacy pools), Privacy Layer (UTXO notes, nullifiers, ZK circuits), Privacy Vault (private data storage), Provers and Sequencers (rollup operations), ZK Circuits (mint/burn/transfer variants), Smirk Tree (Merkle tree), Polylang (ZK smart contract language), Payy Transactions (transaction model), Key Management System (guardian-based recovery), Payy Links (link payments), and Payy Client (TypeScript SDK). The platform uses zero-knowledge proofs, UTXO-based notes, and recursive proof aggregation to enable private, compliant stablecoin transactions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Payy Wallet: Mobile wallet application for storing and managing stablecoins with privacy features.
- Payy Card
- Payy Network
- Payy Client
- PrivacyBridge
- Privacy Layer
- Privacy Vault
- Polylang
- Smirk Tree
Products and services
- Payy Wallet Mobile wallet application for storing, managing, and spending stablecoins with built-in privacy features, supporting private balances and transfers with a familiar fintech interface for businesses, developers, and end users.
- Payy Card Private, non-custodial Visa debit card enabling users to spend stablecoin wallet balances directly in everyday purchases, backed by zero-knowledge-proof privacy and accepted anywhere Visa is taken.
- Cash Links Feature enabling stablecoin transfers through shareable URLs, allowing senders to move value through a link while the receiver chooses when to claim it.
- Private Payments Core privacy functionality for stablecoin transactions using zero-knowledge proofs, enabling selective visibility, operational controls, and compliance-ready private payment flows for businesses and individuals.
- Payy Network Private-by-default Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain network for stablecoin transactions, battle-tested with millions of transactions. Includes blocks, transactions, validators, RPC, and node operation, used by fintechs, wallets, exchanges, and enterprises as a privacy rail.
- Payy Client (TypeScript SDK) TypeScript SDK providing a developer-facing interface for Payy's EVM privacy bridge, including viem and ethers adapters, local privacy signing, note lookup, incoming transfer discovery, and proof generation integration.
Quantifiable outcome
- Sub-100ms block time for fast transaction confirmation
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Polybase
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Polybase technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature11 records
Polybase partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and flagship.
- MintStarsminorMintStars and Payy bring private, instant creator payouts to Payy Network, shielding payout data while making funds spendable anywhere Visa is accepted.
- Credit CoopminorPayy and Credit Coop are exploring how institutional credit can evolve alongside privacy-preserving financial systems as stablecoin payments scale.
- TokucoreToku and Payy partner to launch private payroll for stablecoins on Payy Network, enabling businesses to pay employees and contractors with private stablecoin transactions.
- RaincoreRain partners with Payy Network to bring private, configurable, audit-ready transaction infrastructure to stablecoin card programs. Rain's $3B stablecoin card program gains privacy-preserving settlement capabilities through Payy's ZK-powered privacy layer.
- PrivycorePrivy makes embedded wallet onboarding easier while Payy gives those wallets a private stablecoin rail for cards, neobanks, payroll, vendor payments, and fintech products.
- CircleflagshipCircle selected Payy for the first USDC Grant Program cohort, recognizing Payy's work on private, self-sovereign stablecoin payments. Circle named Payy as part of teams building with USDC and Circle platform features.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Polybase competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Aztec Network: Privacy-focused Ethereum Layer 2 using zero-knowledge proofs for programmable private transactions. Most direct peer to Payy, competing for the same privacy-on-Ethereum L2 niche targeting enterprise and fintech use cases.
- Polygon Miden: ZK-rollup with privacy features built on STARK proofs, part of Polygon's L2 family. Comparable as an Ethereum-aligned privacy rollup targeting developer adoption of private smart contract execution.
Emerging players
- Railgun: Privacy protocol on Ethereum using zero-knowledge proofs to enable private balances and transfers. Overlaps with Payy on private DeFi/transfer use cases but operates as an application-layer privacy pool rather than a full L2.
- Iron Fish: Privacy-focused Layer 1 blockchain using zero-knowledge proofs for shielded transactions. Comparable as a privacy-native chain but operating outside the Ethereum ecosystem.
- Aleo: Privacy-focused Layer 1 with ZK proofs and a developer-oriented smart contract language. Comparable to Payy on ZK privacy infrastructure and developer tooling (akin to Polylang), though L1 rather than L2.
- Secret Network: Cosmos-based blockchain with encrypted compute for private smart contracts. Comparable on the privacy-preserving programmable chain thesis, though built on a different base architecture than Ethereum.
Broad incumbents
- Starknet: General-purpose ZK-rollup on Ethereum with significant ecosystem scale and developer adoption. Adjacent competitor as an alternative L2 destination for stablecoin and DeFi applications, though not privacy-focused by default.
- Zcash: Pioneer privacy blockchain using zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs) for shielded transactions. Comparable on privacy technology but operates as a standalone Layer 1 rather than an Ethereum-aligned L2.
Others
- Privy: Embedded wallet infrastructure provider that is also a Payy integration partner. Related as enabling infrastructure that funnels users into Payy's private stablecoin rail, comparable on developer-first wallet tooling.
- Rain: Payy's largest commercial partner — a $3B stablecoin card program integrating Payy's privacy rail. Relevant adjacent/commercial relationship rather than direct competitor, demonstrating Payy's distribution channel into card-based stablecoin spend.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Polybase social profiles
Digital presencePolybase financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Polybase leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Polybase funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors10 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Polybase M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Polybase
What does Polybase do?
Polybase (operating as Payy) builds and sells privacy-focused stablecoin payment infrastructure on an Ethereum Layer 2 rollup. Its product suite includes Payy Network (the underlying private blockchain), Payy Wallet and Payy Card (consumer-facing apps for storing and spending stablecoins privately), Cash Links and Private Payments (transaction primitives), and Payy Client (a TypeScript SDK with viem and ethers adapters) for developers and fintechs to integrate private stablecoin rails. Customers include fintechs, wallets, exchanges, and enterprises that need confidential on-chain settlement for payroll, treasury, vendor payments, and card spend.
Is Polybase a public or private company?
Polybase is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Polybase founded?
Polybase was founded in 2023. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Polybase based?
Polybase is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Polybase make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Transaction fees are the primary driver. The others are platform/Developer services and card services.
Who are Polybase's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Aztec Network and Polygon Miden. Emerging players are Railgun, Iron Fish, Aleo and Secret Network. Broad incumbents are Starknet and Zcash. Others are Privy and Rain.
Does Polybase have an API?
Yes. Payy Client is a TypeScript SDK for Payy's EVM privacy bridge. The package enables lower-level bridge calls, local privacy signing, proof generation, note lookup, incoming transfer discovery, and wallet transaction adapters that integrate with viem and ethers applications. Developer documentation is at docs.payy.network.
What industry is Polybase in?
Polybase's product category is Privacy-focused stablecoin payment infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAGAMAD, On-Chain Payments & Stablecoin Infrastructure (Issuance, Rails, Treasury), with a secondary code of BPAMAFAL, Crypto Payments & Stablecoin Settlement Platforms. Its NAICS code is 522320 and its SIC code is 6199.