Avalanche-powered Axiym bets on money services businesses

Global cross-border payment platform Axiym is targeting the rising demand from money services businesses (MSBs) for blockchain-based infrastructure and stablecoin solutions for international transactions, the company told Cointelegraph.

Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Axiym disclosed on April 24 that it has processed more than $132 million in cumulative volume on the Avalanche blockchain.

The platform uses Avalanche to deliver real-time credit and liquidity infrastructure to MSBs worldwide.

MSBs — a broad category that includes money transmitters like Western Union, currency exchanges, crypto platforms, fintech firms, and check cashers — are embracing these innovations, Morgan Krupetsky, head of institutions and capital markets at Ava Labs, told Cointelegraph.

In the case of Axiym, “MSBs themselves don’t operate onchain,” Axiym CEO Khibar Rassul told Cointelegraph. Instead, “Axiym connects their existing payment operations to Avalanche behind the scenes using blockchain to automate, move, and manage capital far more efficiently.” 

“Under the hood, Axiym has built an application that provides credit to global MSBs using stablecoins to power payments — these transactions occur on the Avalanche C-Chain,” Krupetsky said, adding:

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Rassul told Cointelegraph that Axiym’s clients are primarily licensed payment companies based in major financial centers like the UAE, the United Kingdom and Singapore. However, these companies’ users often send funds to major remittance hubs across Asia, Africa and Latin America, he said.

Axiym’s platform has been developed to address many of the pain points in traditional cross-border payments, including “capital inefficiency, SWIFT-based delays, high costs and fragmented frameworks,” Rassul said.

While blockchain offers significant advantages in speed and transparency, regulatory fragmentation has made it harder for the technology to replace legacy payment systems. 

Axiym is attempting to solve this problem by “embedding blockchain capabilities directly into existing payment operations” using Avalanche, Rassul said.

Blockchain-based stablecoins have become a key tool for enabling low-cost, efficient cross-border payments, which explains why these fiat-pegged assets have gained traction in emerging markets.

A 2024 Chainalysis report showed that stablecoin remittances from Sub-Saharan Africa are 60% cheaper than traditional fiat rails. 

As Cointelegraph recently reported, blockchain company Ripple has partnered with African payment infrastructure provider Chipper Cash to support cross-border crypto transactions.

Meanwhile, crypto-focused payment startups are also gaining traction in venture capital circles, with the Tether-backed Mansa recently closing a $10 million funding round to expand its stablecoin cross-border payment services.

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