dtcpay and the Next Phase of Stablecoin Payments

Building the regulated infrastructure for real-world digital finance

Stablecoins have long promised to reshape global payments.

By combining the speed and programmability of blockchain with the stability of fiat-pegged assets, they offer a compelling vision: faster settlement, lower costs, and a more efficient global financial system.

Yet despite the excitement surrounding digital assets, most businesses and institutions have remained cautious.

The barrier has never been technology alone.

It has been trust: trust that digital payments can operate within the same regulatory, compliance, and operational frameworks that underpin the global financial system.

As governments and regulators introduce clearer frameworks for digital assets, the next phase of innovation in payments will not be defined by experimentation, but by infrastructure.

The shift toward regulated digital payment rails

Stablecoins have quietly become one of the fastest-growing segments of the digital asset ecosystem.

Originally used primarily within crypto markets, they are increasingly being explored for practical financial use cases, including:

• Cross-border payments
• Merchant transactions
• Treasury and liquidity management
• Global transfers

For businesses operating across markets, stablecoins offer the potential to significantly reduce friction in international payments.

However, for these use cases to scale, stablecoins must integrate seamlessly with existing financial systems.

This requires infrastructure capable of connecting blockchain networks with regulated payment rails, allowing digital assets to function within the broader financial ecosystem.

dtcpay: bridging digital assets and traditional finance

This is the opportunity that dtcpay is addressing.

Headquartered in Singapore, dtcpay is building regulated payment infrastructure that enables businesses and individuals to accept, store, and transact in stablecoins, while seamlessly settling transactions across digital and fiat currencies.

Founded by Alice Liu and Band Zhao, dtcpay’s platform integrates digital asset payments with traditional financial systems through a real-time swap engine, allowing stablecoins to be used for everyday financial transactions.

In a market crowded with crypto-native infrastructure providers, dtcpay has focused on a key differentiator: regulatory readiness.

The company holds a Major Payment Institution licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, as well as an Electronic Money Institution licence in Luxembourg, enabling regulated payment services across the European Economic Area.

This regulatory foundation allows dtcpay to support enterprise and institutional clients that require payment infrastructure operating within established financial frameworks.

The company has also partnered with Visa, offering Visa Infinite cards that enable users to seamlessly spend digital assets in everyday transactions.

“Our mission is to deliver a platform where faster, safer, and more cost-efficient transactions are the standard, not the exception. By prioritising compliance and regulatory rigour alongside a user-centric experience, we have built a foundational infrastructure ready for global scale.”

— Alice Liu, CEO and Co-founder of dtcpay

The convergence of fintech and Web3

The evolution of stablecoin payments reflects a broader convergence taking place across financial technology.

For years, fintech and Web3 developed along parallel but largely separate paths.

Fintech companies focused on improving traditional financial services, while crypto-native companies built entirely new financial systems.

Today, those worlds are increasingly intersecting.

• Payment providers are integrating blockchain-based settlement
• Financial institutions are exploring digital asset infrastructure
• Consumers are interacting with digital currencies through familiar interfaces

Companies operating at this intersection are effectively building the connective layer between digital asset networks and the global financial system.

Vertex’s perspective

At Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, we believe the next wave of financial innovation will be driven by companies that bring real-world utility to digital assets.

Stablecoins represent one of the most promising developments in this evolution — but only if supported by infrastructure that meets the standards required by regulators, enterprises, and financial institutions.

This is why we are excited to lead dtcpay’s US$10 million Series A funding as the company scales its regulated payment network globally.

“We see a massive opportunity in the real-world use of stablecoin where utility meets regulated finance. dtcpay has demonstrated an incredible ability to balance cutting-edge technical innovation with a user experience that rivals traditional banking apps. They are uniquely positioned to capture the next wave of mainstream adoption in global digital payments.”

— Gen Ping Liu, General Partner, Vertex Ventures SEA & India

From experimentation to infrastructure

The first decade of digital assets was largely defined by experimentation.

The next decade may be defined by infrastructure.

As stablecoins move beyond crypto-native environments into mainstream financial systems, the companies that build the bridges between these worlds will play a defining role in shaping the future of global payments.

And in that future, infrastructure may prove to be the most important innovation of all.