OpenFX secures $94 million to expand payment network

Foreign-exchange payments startup OpenFX has secured $94 million in a new funding round as it seeks to modernize cross-border remittances using stablecoin technology. The investment round, which values the company at approximately $500 million, was led by a consortium of venture capital firms including Accel, Lightspeed Faction, M13, Northzone, and Pantera. The startup focuses on market making and high-volume transfers, aiming to address inefficiencies in the traditional financial system. Founder Prabhakar Reddy, who previously co-founded the crypto prime brokerage FalconX, conceived the idea for the platform after observing significant friction in the legacy remittance market. He noted the physical challenges of traditional money transfers while watching queues at branches of The Western Union Company in Dubai. > There are very few people in the world who are actually willing to pay 2% to 5% to move USD to euro - so thats when I realized that the infrastructure was broken. According to Reddy, the platform is designed to handle large-scale transactions that often struggle with liquidity in traditional order books. While smaller transfers are relatively simple, moving amounts between $1 million and $10 million often incurs high costs and significant delays. OpenFX utilizes blockchain-based stablecoins as a bridge between traditional banking systems, allowing for near-instant currency conversion. The company reports that over 98% of its transactions settle in under 60 minutes, a stark contrast to the two to five business days typically required in the legacy foreign-exchange market. This efficiency has driven a surge in demand from neobanks, fintech companies, and payroll platforms. The firm currently processes over $45 billion in annualized payment volume, a significant increase from the $4 billion reported just one year ago. With the fresh capital, OpenFX plans to expand its operations beyond its current presence in the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and India. The company is specifically targeting growth in Latin America and Southeast Asia, where the adoption of digital assets for practical financial use cases is accelerating.