Aquanow
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersVancouver, Canada
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
Aquanow firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Aquanow
- Legal name
- CLTS Technologies Ltd.
- Website
- https://aquanow.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Aquanow industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Asset Infrastructure
- SIC
- Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Liquidity Aggregation & Smart Order Routing (FSADAJAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Market Making & Liquidity Provision (FSADAJAC), Institutional API Connectivity, OMS/EMS & FIX Gateways (FSADAJAJ), Correspondent Banking & Liquidity Network Platforms (FSAGAKAI)
Keywords
Where Aquanow is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Vancouver
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Aquanow business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Digital Asset Brokerage Services: Revenue generated from facilitating digital asset trading, including liquidity provision, OTC trading, and trading infrastructure licensing. The company acts as a dealer providing institutional liquidity and related services to banks, brokerages, and fintechs.
- Stablecoin Payment Processing: Fees from enabling stablecoin payments for merchants and payment service providers. Clients accept stablecoin payments and receive automatic fiat settlement, generating transaction-based revenue.
- API and Platform Licensing: Revenue from licensing trading infrastructure APIs and payment APIs to financial institutions. Developers pay for API access to integrate digital asset capabilities into their platforms.
- Professional Services: Advisory, integration, and deployment services for implementing digital asset capabilities. Includes strategic design and technical integration support from experts.
- Embedded Brokerage: Fully managed licensed digital asset brokerage services where Aquanow operates the brokerage on behalf of clients, generating recurring revenue from management and platform fees.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Aquanow product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Aquanow provides regulated digital asset infrastructure for financial institutions, combining institutional liquidity, compliant operations, and scalable technology. The platform includes two core lines: Digital Asset Brokerage (liquidity, trading infrastructure, and embedded brokerage) and Stablecoin Payments (send, receive, and managed wallets), all delivered via APIs and supported by professional integration services.
Product overview
Aquanow is a digital asset infrastructure platform providing a unified infrastructure layer that combines institutional liquidity, compliant operations, and scalable technology. The platform architecture consists of two core product lines: Digital Asset Brokerage (comprising Liquidity & Conversion, Trading Infrastructure, and Embedded Brokerage sub-products) for institutional trading; and Stablecoin Payments (comprising Send, Receive, and Manage sub-products) for payment and wallet capabilities. These are supported by Platform Services (Digital Assets Investment, Professional Services) and Platform Infrastructure (Compliance, Security). The company operates through affiliated entities across North America, Europe, Middle East, and Asia, with regional subsidiaries including Aquanow Türkiye and Aquanow Ventures for early-stage investments.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Aquanow Ventures: Early-stage investment arm focused on digital assets and Web3 companies, managed by AQN Digital.
- AQN Digital
Products and services
- Digital Asset Brokerage Institutional liquidity and infrastructure for digital asset trading, encompassing broad asset coverage, competitive pricing, and connectivity to digital asset markets for banks and brokerages.
- Liquidity & Conversion Trade digital assets via API, platform, or OTC, providing institutional-grade liquidity and conversion capabilities for digital asset markets.
- Trading Infrastructure Launch digital asset trading under the client's own license, providing the infrastructure backbone for institutional trading operations.
- Embedded Brokerage Launch a fully managed licensed digital asset brokerage, enabling platforms to offer digital asset trading without building infrastructure from scratch.
- Stablecoin Payments Accept payments and move money globally using stablecoin rails, enabling enterprises to accept stablecoin payments, send cross-border payouts, and receive automatic fiat settlement.
- Digital Assets Investment Institutional investment strategies for digital assets via AQN Digital, providing advisory and deployment services for institutional digital asset investment.
- Professional Services Advisory, integration, and deployment services providing expert guidance from strategic design through technical integration to successful launch of digital asset capabilities.
- AED-USD Digital Conversion Framework Access Compliant access to the AED-USD digital conversion framework between AE Coin and USDU, enabling near-instant exchange between USD- and AED-denominated payment tokens for institutional settlement, treasury operations, and liquidity management within the UAE.
Quantifiable outcome
- $130B+ volume processed
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Aquanow
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Aquanow technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature5 records
Aquanow partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.
- Universal Digital INTL LimitedcoreAquanow provides access to the compliant AED-USD digital conversion framework between AE Coin and USDU stablecoins. As a VARA-licensed Broker-Dealer, Aquanow facilitates compliant access and execution within the UAE's regulatory framework. Aquanow was a key partner in achieving the milestone of launching USDU, the first USD-backed stablecoin registered under the UAE Central Bank framework, supporting from infrastructure and liquidity to delivery and execution.
- AE CoincoreAE Coin (AED-pegged stablecoin licensed by Central Bank of UAE) partnered with Aquanow for the AED-USD conversion framework. Aquanow facilitates access to the regulated conversion mechanism enabling near-instant exchange between USDU and AE Coin within UAE's regulatory framework.
- Al Maryah Community Bank (Mbank)coreAl Maryah Community Bank powers the AED-USD digital conversion framework between AE Coin and USDU. The bank provides the automated conversion mechanism enabling near-instant exchange between USD- and AED-denominated payment tokens within UAE's regulatory framework, supporting virtual asset market settlement, treasury operations, and liquidity management.
- AkuratecocoreAkurateco, a white-label payment software provider, integrated with Aquanow enabling its clients to access institutional-grade crypto liquidity and payment rails. The partnership allows merchants and payment service providers to process digital asset transactions while bridging fiat and cryptocurrency ecosystems. Aquanow's Canadian entity, registered as a Money Services Business with FINTRAC, delivers this integration.
- VisacoreVisa partnered with Aquanow to expand stablecoin settlement capabilities across the CEMEA region (Central Europe, Middle East, and Africa). The integration allows financial institutions to settle transactions using stablecoins such as USDC, aiming to reduce costs, operational friction, and settlement times for cross-border transactions. Monthly volume exceeds $2.5 billion annualized rate. This is part of Visa's strategy to build multi-coin, multi-chain infrastructure supporting digital asset growth in global payments.
- HubpaycoreHubpay, a UAE-based fintech company, partnered with Aquanow to launch the UAE's first fully regulated crypto payment gateway for enterprises. This partnership enables businesses to accept cryptocurrency payments while receiving automatic fiat settlements in AED.
- WonderFisecondaryWonderFi partnered with Aquanow to modernize the back-end rails of payments, reducing reliance on traditional systems with multiple intermediaries and preparing institutions for the future of money movement.
- Emirates NBDcoreEmirates NBD utilizes Aquanow's infrastructure to offer digital asset services on the Liv X App. Aquanow enables banking clients to invest in digital assets through a locally regulated and secure environment. The CCO noted that clients have been investing indirectly for years with overseas providers, and they wanted to provide a locally regulated and secure alternative.
- Changer.aesecondaryChanger.ae, an FSRA-regulated digital asset custodian, provides initial access to the USDU-AE Coin conversion framework alongside Aquanow within the UAE's regulatory framework.
- Zodia CustodysecondaryAquanow utilizes Zodia Custody Limited as an external third-party custody service for client virtual assets held in custody.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Aquanow competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Fireblocks: Fireblocks provides institutional custody, settlement, and tokenization infrastructure for digital assets via API. Directly comparable to Aquanow's API-first approach serving banks, fintechs, and PSPs with secure digital asset infrastructure and connectivity.
- Zero Hash: Zero Hash provides embedded crypto and stablecoin infrastructure for fintechs, banks, and broker-dealers via API. Closely aligned with Aquanow's embedded brokerage and stablecoin payments offerings targeting banks, fintechs, and payment service providers.
- BitGo: BitGo provides institutional digital asset custody, trading, and lending services to financial institutions. Comparable to Aquanow in offering regulated infrastructure for institutional digital asset trading and settlement across multiple jurisdictions.
- BVNK: BVNK provides stablecoin payment infrastructure and on/off-ramp services for businesses and payment service providers. Directly comparable to Aquanow's stablecoin payments (Send/Receive/Manage) product line targeting payment service providers and enterprises.
- Paxos: Paxos provides regulated blockchain infrastructure for stablecoin issuance, custody, and brokerage services to enterprises. Comparable to Aquanow in offering regulated stablecoin infrastructure (similar to USDU/AE Coin framework) and institutional brokerage services.
- FalconX: FalconX is an institutional digital asset prime broker providing trading, credit, and custody solutions for financial institutions and fintechs. Highly comparable to Aquanow in serving institutional clients with regulated infrastructure, aggregated liquidity, and cross-border settlement capabilities.
- Galaxy Digital: Galaxy Digital provides institutional trading, asset management, and digital infrastructure services across the crypto ecosystem. Comparable to Aquanow as a multi-jurisdictional institutional platform combining brokerage, payments, and treasury services.
- Coinbase Prime: Coinbase Prime offers institutional crypto brokerage, custody, and financing services to banks, hedge funds, and asset managers. Directly comparable to Aquanow's institutional digital asset brokerage, trading infrastructure, and embedded brokerage offerings targeting the same financial institution buyer.
Broad incumbents
- Circle: Circle is the issuer of USDC stablecoin and provides treasury, payments, and on-chain infrastructure. While primarily a stablecoin issuer, Circle's payments and treasury solutions overlap with Aquanow's stablecoin settlement capabilities and is a key partner in the Visa CEMEA relationship.
- Ripple: Ripple provides enterprise-grade cross-border payments infrastructure leveraging blockchain technology (XRP Ledger, RLUSD stablecoin). Comparable to Aquanow's enterprise cross-border payments and stablecoin settlement capabilities targeting banks and financial institutions.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Aquanow social profiles
Digital presenceAquanow compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance7 records
Aquanow financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Aquanow leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Aquanow subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
Aquanow funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Aquanow M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments12 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Aquanow
What does Aquanow do?
Aquanow provides regulated digital asset infrastructure for financial institutions, combining institutional liquidity, compliant operations, and scalable technology. The platform includes two core lines: Digital Asset Brokerage (liquidity, trading infrastructure, and embedded brokerage) and Stablecoin Payments (send, receive, and managed wallets), all delivered via APIs and supported by professional integration services.
Is Aquanow a public or private company?
Aquanow is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Aquanow founded?
Aquanow was founded in 2018. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Aquanow based?
Aquanow is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Aquanow make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Digital Asset Brokerage Services are the primary driver. The others are stablecoin Payment Processing, API and Platform Licensing, professional Services and embedded Brokerage.
Who are Aquanow's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Fireblocks, Zero Hash, BitGo, BVNK, Paxos, FalconX, Galaxy Digital and Coinbase Prime. Broad incumbents are Circle and Ripple.
Does Aquanow have an API?
Yes. Aquanow offers two public APIs: (1) Trading API - enables integration of Aquanow's trading infrastructure into platforms, providing access to streaming data, pre-trade analytics, and execution services, with documentation at docs.aquanow.io/aquanow and a Postman repository at developer.aquanow.io; (2) Payments API - integration platform for payment service providers, with documentation at docs.aquapay.io. Both APIs support institutional digital asset trading and stablecoin payment capabilities. Developer documentation is at docs.aquanow.io/aquanow.
What industry is Aquanow in?
Aquanow's product category is Digital Asset Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSADAJAD, Liquidity Aggregation & Smart Order Routing, with a secondary code of FSADAJAC, Market Making & Liquidity Provision. Its SIC code is 6200.