Paycrest
Paycrest is a US-headquartered, Nigeria-rooted fintech operating a decentralized protocol that routes stablecoin-to-fiat and fiat-to-stablecoin payments across eight blockchain networks and seven African and Brazilian corridors, serving wallets, fintechs, DeFi protocols, and treasury teams via an API-first product.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2024
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Paycrest does
Paycrest is a US-headquartered fintech with Nigerian roots, founded in 2024 by Chibuotu Amadi and Francis Ocholi, that operates a decentralized payment routing protocol for stablecoin-to-fiat and fiat-to-stablecoin settlement. The protocol's three-layer architecture consists of Gateway Smart Contracts providing on-chain escrow with automatic refunds on failed orders, a Smart Routing Engine that automatically matches payment orders to the best-priced liquidity provider in a distributed network, and Settlement Tools that connect to local payment rails including bank transfers, mobile money, and M-Pesa Till/Paybill. The system operates across eight blockchain networks (Ethereum, Base, BNB Smart Chain, Lisk, Scroll, Celo, Arbitrum One, and Polygon), supports USDT, USDC, and cNGN, and serves corridors in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Malawi, and Brazil, with an average delivery time of 30 seconds and 98.7% reliability across the network.
Paycrest serves wallets, fintech platforms, payroll providers, exchanges, DeFi protocols, and treasury teams that need to embed onramp/offramp functionality without building their own liquidity infrastructure. Its customer base includes 115 active liquidity providers and 490,000 all-time senders, with Hurupay as a publicly cited enterprise reference customer. Distribution is API-first and product-led, delivered through a self-serve dashboard, REST API (v1 and v2), an on-chain Gateway contract for smart contract integrations, and Noblocks, a reference consumer application.
Paycrest generates revenue through transaction-based fees applied to routed payment orders, with zero sender fees for API integrations and optional sender fee percentages that are settled atomically on-chain. The company operates with 1–10 employees, is incorporated as Paycrest Inc. in Delaware, and closed a $404,000 pre-seed round in January 2026 from Hashed Emergent, StarkWare, LAVA, Microtraction, and Sunny Side Venture Partners.
Paycrest firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Paycrest
- Legal name
- Paycrest Inc.
- Website
- https://paycrest.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2024
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Paycrest is a US-headquartered, Nigeria-rooted fintech operating a decentralized protocol that routes stablecoin-to-fiat and fiat-to-stablecoin payments across eight blockchain networks and seven African and Brazilian corridors, serving wallets, fintechs, DeFi protocols, and treasury teams via an API-first product.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Paycrest industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cross-Border Payment Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- SIC
- Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Stablecoin Payment Rails & Settlement Networks (Issuer-Led) (FSADADAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Smart Routing, Cascading & Payment Optimization (FSAMACAJ), Crypto Payment Gateways & Checkout APIs (FSADAIAA), Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) & Local Rails (ACH/SEPA/UPI, etc.) (CRAFALAG)
Keywords
Where Paycrest is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Paycrest business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Transaction-based fees (offramp and onramp): Paycrest charges transaction fees on payment orders routed through the protocol. For offramp orders, the total stablecoin amount the user sends includes the base amount plus sender fee plus transaction fee. Senders can optionally configure a sender fee percentage collected atomically on-chain. Providers supply liquidity and earn revenue by setting their own rates.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | API Integration — Zero sender fees with per-transaction fees |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Liquidity Provider — Revenue from spread on crypto-to-fiat conversion |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Paycrest product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Paycrest operates an open payment routing protocol that enables businesses and developers to convert and settle between stablecoins (USDT, USDC, cNGN) and local fiat currencies across multiple African and Latin American corridors. It combines on-chain Gateway Smart Contracts for escrow, a Smart Routing Engine that matches each order to the best-priced liquidity provider, and Settlement Tools that connect to local bank transfers and mobile money rails. Businesses integrate the functionality via a REST Sender API or directly through the on-chain Gateway contract.
Product overview
Paycrest is a decentralized finance infrastructure company offering an open payment routing protocol for stablecoin-fiat settlement. The product portfolio centers on the Paycrest Protocol, a three-layer system comprising Gateway Smart Contracts (on-chain escrow), a Smart Routing Engine (automatic provider matching), and Settlement Tools (bank/mobile money connectivity). The ecosystem includes the Sender API for programmatic integration, Noblocks as a consumer-facing reference app, and a Liquidity Provider Network for market participants to supply liquidity. The protocol operates across 8 blockchain networks (Ethereum, Base, BNB Smart Chain, Lisk, Scroll, Celo, Arbitrum One, Polygon, Asset Chain) supporting USDT, USDC, and cNGN tokens across 5+ fiat currencies including NGN, KES, UGX, TZS, GHS, MWK, and BRL. Average transaction delivery time is 30 seconds with 98.7% reliability.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- noblocks: A reference consumer app built on top of the Paycrest protocol. The simplest way to move between crypto and cash.
Products and services
- Paycrest Protocol Open payment routing protocol that enables unified fiat and stablecoin payments globally with speed, transparency, and compliance. Routes payment orders through a network of liquidity providers, matching senders to best-priced providers via a Smart Routing Engine while securing transactions through on-chain escrow in Gateway Smart Contracts.
- Sender API Public and authenticated REST API (v1 and v2) that enables businesses to programmatically create payment orders, fetch rate quotes, verify accounts, and monitor order status via webhooks across supported blockchain networks and fiat corridors. Authentication uses an API Key header and HMAC-SHA256 webhook signature verification.
- Liquidity Provider Network Decentralized network of third-party entities that supply liquidity for stablecoin-to-fiat conversions. Providers set their own rates, maintain local currency reserves, and process payouts to recipients while earning revenue on every transaction routed through Paycrest.
- Noblocks Reference consumer application built on top of the Paycrest Protocol, providing the simplest way for individuals to move between crypto and cash. Serves as a demonstration app for the protocol's capabilities and is free to use (not available to US users).
Quantifiable outcome
- 30-second average delivery time for payment orders
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Paycrest
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Paycrest technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Paycrest partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Hurupaycore
- Noblockscore
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Paycrest competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- MoonPay: Largest centralized crypto onramp/offramp provider with global consumer and enterprise offerings. Competes with Paycrest in the same business customer segment but operates a closed-loop model rather than an open protocol/aggregator.
Direct peers
- Banxa: Global crypto payment gateway with API-first integration serving exchanges and wallets. Comparable to Paycrest in delivery model and customer segments, with broader geographic coverage and public-company status.
- Transak: Direct onramp/offramp API provider for stablecoins and crypto across 100+ countries. Closest comparable to Paycrest in product offering (Sender API gateway model), with substantially broader corridor coverage and a larger liquidity provider network.
- Kotani Pay: Africa-focused crypto on/off-ramp infrastructure connecting stablecoins to local mobile money and bank rails. Direct competitor in Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria, with overlap in M-Pesa and bank transfer integration.
- Alchemy Pay: Crypto payment gateway offering onramp/offramp and merchant settlement across multiple fiat currencies and payment methods. Comparable to Paycrest in API-first, multi-rail fiat gateway model with global ambitions.
- Yellow Card: Africa-focused stablecoin and crypto payments platform operating in 20+ African countries. Direct competitor to Paycrest across the same Nigerian, Kenyan, and broader African corridors with a more established exchange-style model.
- Bitnob: Africa-focused fintech providing stablecoin wallets, payments, and on/off-ramp services. Targets the same wallets, fintechs, and cross-border payroll use cases as Paycrest across African markets.
Emerging players
- NoOnes (formerly Paxful): P2P crypto marketplace with strong Africa and LATAM presence, including stablecoin-fiat exchange. Competes with Paycrest at the consumer end of stablecoin-to-cash conversion in overlapping African markets.
- Relay (relay.money): Cross-border payment protocol using stablecoins for remittances into emerging markets. Overlaps with Paycrest's treasury/payroll use cases and emerging-market corridors but with a B2C remittance angle rather than B2B API.
- Onramp Money: India and emerging-markets focused onramp/offramp provider for stablecoins via local payment rails. Comparable to Paycrest in API-first architecture and emerging-market corridor focus, but with different geographic anchor.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Paycrest social profiles
Digital presencePaycrest financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Paycrest leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Paycrest funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Paycrest 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 Paycrest
What does Paycrest do?
Paycrest operates an open payment routing protocol that enables businesses and developers to convert and settle between stablecoins (USDT, USDC, cNGN) and local fiat currencies across multiple African and Latin American corridors. It combines on-chain Gateway Smart Contracts for escrow, a Smart Routing Engine that matches each order to the best-priced liquidity provider, and Settlement Tools that connect to local bank transfers and mobile money rails. Businesses integrate the functionality via a REST Sender API or directly through the on-chain Gateway contract.
Is Paycrest a public or private company?
Paycrest is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Paycrest founded?
Paycrest was founded in 2024. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Paycrest based?
Paycrest is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Paycrest make money?
One revenue line is on record: transaction-based fees (offramp and onramp).
Who are Paycrest's main competitors?
MoonPay is listed as a broad incumbent. Direct peers are Banxa, Transak, Kotani Pay, Alchemy Pay, Yellow Card and Bitnob. Emerging players are NoOnes (formerly Paxful), Relay (relay.money) and Onramp Money.
Does Paycrest have an API?
Yes. Paycrest offers a public and authenticated REST API (v1 and v2) for stablecoin-fiat payment routing. The API supports both offramp (crypto-to-fiat) and onramp (fiat-to-crypto) flows. Key endpoints include: POST /v2/sender/orders for creating payment orders, GET /v2/rates/{network}/{from}/{amount}/{to} for public rate quotes, POST /v2/verify-account for account validation, GET /v2/markets for public orderbook data, and webhook notifications for order status updates. Authentication uses API Key header and HMAC-SHA256 webhook signature verification. The API processes payments across 8 blockchain networks (Ethereum, Base, BNB Smart Chain, Lisk, Scroll, Celo, Arbitrum One, Polygon, Asset Chain) supporting USDT, USDC, and cNGN tokens across 5+ fiat currencies. Public endpoints (rates, markets) require no authentication; authenticated endpoints require API key via dashboard KYB process. Responses use polymorphic source/destination schema in v2; v1 supports offramp only with flat schema. Developer documentation is at docs.paycrest.io.
What industry is Paycrest in?
Paycrest's product category is Cross-Border Payment Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSADADAF, Stablecoin Payment Rails & Settlement Networks (Issuer-Led), with a secondary code of FSAMACAJ, Smart Routing, Cascading & Payment Optimization. Its NAICS code is 522320 and its SIC code is 6200.