Speed

What Speed does

Speed1, Inc. (operating as Speed) is a Dubai-headquartered payment infrastructure company founded in 2021 by brothers Niraj Patel (CEO) and Jayneel Patel (Co-Founder), who previously exited the SaaS platform Orderhive. The company operates a Bitcoin Lightning Network-based payment gateway that enables merchants to accept Bitcoin, USDT, and USDC with sub-3-second settlement, 99.99% payment reliability, and transaction fees of 0.5-1% — a structural cost reduction versus the 2.5-3.5% charged by traditional card processors. Speed's product surface spans a merchant gateway (Speed Merchant / Platform), a consumer wallet (Speed Wallet, with 1.2M+ users), a web-based POS terminal (Speed Terminal), integration APIs (Speed Connect), stablecoin settlement, global payouts, onramp/offramp infrastructure, and compliance tooling (KYC/AML, KYB, sanctions screening). The platform supports payments in 100+ countries and is integrated with Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and embedded into Acrelec's 30,000+ kiosk and POS systems serving 80+ global brands.

Speed's revenue mechanics rest primarily on transaction-based take rates on processed payment volume, supplemented by Speed Wallet consumer subscriptions, enterprise integration services, and an affiliate commission structure that shares up to 50% of merchant transaction fees with 235+ technology and affiliate partners. The company has processed over $10 billion in cumulative payment volume across 10,000+ businesses since inception. Go-to-market is hybrid: a self-serve product-led model for SMBs and developers (with sub-5-minute plugin installs), an enterprise sales motion for large deployments (e.g., Steak 'n Shake nationwide QSR rollout), OEM embedding via hardware partners like Acrelec, and a scaled channel/affiliate program. Speed holds FinCEN MSB registration (via CoinX USA LLC), SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and PCI-DSS certifications, supporting both regulated-industry merchant acquisition and enterprise procurement requirements.

In December 2025, Speed closed an $8 million seed round led by Tether ($6M) and Ego Death Capital ($2M), representing one of Tether's first major investments in Bitcoin Lightning infrastructure as part of a $20M+ commitment to the Lightning ecosystem. The capital is earmarked for international expansion, merchant solutions development, and cross-border payments — strategic vectors consistent with the company's existing footprint across Dubai, Las Vegas, and Ahmedabad offices. Named enterprise customers include Steak 'n Shake (claiming 10%+ sales growth and 50% fee reduction post-adoption), Acrelec, Maxim, Thndr Games, and Coin Stories Podcast, spanning QSR, fintech/PSP, media, and gaming/entertainment verticals.

Name

Speed

Legal name

Speed1, Inc.

Website

https://tryspeed.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Speed operates a Bitcoin Lightning Network-based payment gateway enabling merchants globally to accept Bitcoin, USDT, and USDC with sub-3-second settlement and 0.5-1% fees. It serves 10,000+ businesses across QSR, fintech, eCommerce, gaming, and media in 100+ countries, with consumer-side wallet infrastructure serving 1.2M+ users.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Dubai

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Transaction Processing Fees: Speed charges transaction fees averaging 0.5-1% per payment processed through its Lightning infrastructure. This is the primary revenue stream, with fees significantly lower than traditional card processors (2.5-3.5%). No setup costs or monthly minimums.
2. Speed Wallet Subscriptions: Speed Wallet offers subscription plans with enhanced features and exclusive benefits, available through Google Play and Apple App Store. Includes tiered rewards programs (Speed Points) for eligible transactions.
3. Affiliate Partner Commissions: Speed operates an affiliate partner program where partners earn 50% commission on transaction fees from merchants they onboard, with flexibility to set commission fees between 0% and 0.5%.
4. Enterprise Integration Services: Revenue from developing custom payment flows, POS integrations, and enterprise merchant tools for large deployments like Steak 'n Shake across hundreds of locations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Speed operates a Lightning Network-based payment gateway that enables businesses to accept Bitcoin and stablecoin (USDT, USDC) payments with sub-3-second settlement and sub-1% transaction fees. The platform combines a merchant payment gateway (Speed Merchant), consumer wallet (Speed Wallet), developer APIs/SDKs, a restaurant POS terminal, and stablecoin settlement, payouts, and onramp/offramp modules. It serves enterprises, fintechs, PSPs, e-commerce merchants, and regulated industries across 100+ countries.

Product overview

Speed is a Lightning payment gateway platform offering a unified infrastructure for Bitcoin and stablecoin payments. The core offering is the Speed Merchant/Platform which serves as the primary payment gateway, supplemented by the Speed Wallet consumer application. Key modules include Payments (gateway), Payouts (global disbursements), Stablecoin Settlement (real-time USDT/USDC settlement), Speed Terminal (restaurant POS), Speed Connect (API integration), Onramp/Offramp (fiat conversion), and Compliance tools. The platform is built on Bitcoin's Lightning Network for instant settlement, processes over $10 billion in payments, and serves businesses across 100+ countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Speed Merchant / Speed Platform Lightning payment gateway for businesses accepting Bitcoin, USDT, and USDC through a unified infrastructure layer with instant settlement, low fees, and enterprise-grade compliance.
• Speed Wallet Consumer and business Lightning wallet for instant Bitcoin and stablecoin transfers, global payouts, and local on/off-ramps; over 1.2 million users and 100%+ year-over-year growth.
• Stablecoin Settlement Real-time stablecoin settlement on the Lightning Network; accepts BTC and settles in USDT or USDC instantly with sub-second finality and under 0.5% fees across 150+ countries without SWIFT.
• Speed Terminal (Restaurant POS)

Quantifiable outcome

• 50% reduction in payment processing fees for Steak 'n Shake
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AcreleccoreTechnology or Integration · 26 November 2025Acrelec integrated Speed's Lightning payment infrastructure into their kiosk and POS systems, enabling merchants to accept Bitcoin and stablecoins through existing Acrelec hardware. Acrelec powers 30,000+ kiosks for 80+ global brands. This embedded integration enables instant activation of Bitcoin payments without merchants requiring new hardware or operational changes.
• Steak 'n ShakecoreOthersSteak 'n Shake partnered with Speed to become the first major U.S. QSR to adopt Bitcoin nationwide. Speed developed custom payment flows across POS, kiosk, and mobile channels with high-availability infrastructure for the deployment. Results included over 10% sales growth and 50% reduction in payment processing fees.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Alchemy Pay: Alchemy Pay operates a crypto onramp/offramp and merchant acceptance network across emerging and developed markets. It competes with Speed on fiat-crypto payment rails and merchant integration, particularly across Asia-Pacific.
• Lightspark: Lightspark is a Lightning Network payments infrastructure company founded by David Marcus. It offers enterprise-grade Lightning payments and stablecoin settlement, making it a direct competitor to Speed's Lightning-plus-USDT merchant stack.
• OpenNode: OpenNode is a Bitcoin Lightning payment processor serving merchants with instant settlement and fiat conversion. It directly competes with Speed in Lightning-based merchant acceptance, automated payouts, and platform APIs.
• Strike: Strike is a Lightning-based payments app and merchant processor built on the Bitcoin Lightning Network. It targets the same merchant and consumer use cases as Speed, including instant settlement and low-fee cross-border payments.

Others

• MoonPay: MoonPay provides fiat-to-crypto onramp infrastructure used by wallets and merchants globally. It is comparable to Speed's Onramp/Offramp module and competes in the broader fiat-crypto conversion stack.
• Circle: Circle is the issuer of USDC and operates payment and treasury APIs for businesses. It is comparable to Speed as an enabler of stablecoin-based settlement, though Circle is primarily issuer-led infrastructure versus Speed's merchant-acquirer focus.

Broad incumbents

• Coinbase Commerce: Coinbase Commerce is the merchant crypto-acceptance arm of Coinbase, a publicly listed exchange. It competes with Speed on merchant Bitcoin acceptance and is bundled with Coinbase's broader exchange, custody, and stablecoin distribution capabilities.
• Ripple (XRP/RippleNet): Ripple provides cross-border payment infrastructure for banks and payment providers using blockchain rails. It overlaps with Speed's cross-border B2B and payout value proposition, though it serves institutional rather than merchant use cases.
• BitPay: BitPay is one of the longest-established crypto payment processors, offering Bitcoin and stablecoin merchant acceptance with fiat settlement. It overlaps with Speed on enterprise merchant acceptance, though it relies more on on-chain than Lightning rails.

Emerging players

• BTCPay Server: BTCPay Server is an open-source, self-hosted Bitcoin and Lightning payment processor. It overlaps with Speed on merchant Lightning acceptance but is positioned for technically sophisticated merchants seeking non-custodial infrastructure.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights8 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/speed_LN
• Facebookfacebook.com/tryspeednow
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tryspeednow

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Speed