Transak, a Web3 payments infrastructure provider, has raised US$16 million in a strategic funding round co-led by IDG Capital and Tether.

The company said it will use the funds to expand its stablecoin payments stack and enter new markets.

Other investors in the round include Primal Capital, 1kx, Protein Capital, and Fuel Ventures, with FT Partners advising on the transaction.

Transak said it holds licenses in the US (FinCEN), the UK (FCA), the EU (VASP), Canada (FINTRAC), Australia (AUSTRAC), and India (FIU-IND).

Nearly 30% of Transak’s processed transactions come from stablecoin flows, according to CEO Sami Start.

🔗 Source: CoinDesk

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Tether’s strategic pivot from issuer to ecosystem builder

Tether’s investment in Transak signals a broader strategy beyond simply issuing USDT tokens.

The stablecoin giant reported profits exceeding $13 billion in 2024 and holds over $120 billion in U.S. Treasury bills, giving it substantial capital to deploy strategically1.

This financial strength enables Tether to invest across the stablecoin value chain rather than just dominating token issuance, where it already controls over 60% market share.

Tether’s recent investments span from Spanish crypto exchange Bit2Me to Italian football club Juventus, demonstrating how dominant players use profits to build broader ecosystem control.

By backing infrastructure companies like Transak, Tether positions itself to capture value from the entire stablecoin payment flow, not just token creation.

2️⃣ Regulatory compliance becomes the competitive moat in global payments

Transak’s licensing across six major jurisdictions—including FinCEN in the U.S. and FCA in the UK—represents a significant competitive advantage as stablecoin adoption accelerates.

The stablecoin market doubled from $130 billion to $270 billion in 2024, but this growth creates regulatory scrutiny that favors compliant infrastructure providers.