Payment companies raised $6.2 billion in 2025, a jump from $540 million raised in 2024, as investors bet on blockchain-based financial infrastructure to replace traditional payment systems.
The amount raised, representing an increase of over 1,000% year over year, was driven by stablecoin issuer Circle's $1.05 billion initial public offering (IPO).
Circle, Figure, Ripple, Tempo, and Rapyd each raised a combined approximately $3.6 billion through public markets and private rounds, and were responsible for more than half of this year's total funding.
How much did payments IPOs raise in 2025?
Circle's June IPO priced its stock at $31 and secured a valuation of $8.06 billion with backing from 15 investment banks including JPMorgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. The company, which issues USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, saw its stock price rise to more than $123 at one point on the day of its IPO.
Figure, a blockchain-based lending platform, raised $1 billion through an IPO in September, valuing the company at $7.6 billion. The company has facilitated more than $17 billion in home equity loans across the United States, and Sixth Street is investing $200 million in equity capital with recycling capabilities for future loan production in February 2025.
Ripple has completed a $500 million round at a $40 billion valuation, led by funds managed by Fortress Investment Group, Citadel Securities, Brevan Howard, Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, and Marshall Weiss affiliates.
Rapyd, which acquired fintech company PayU, raised $500 million in equity and part debt earlier this year.
How much did the company raise in December?
The final weeks of the year continued to see appetite for investment in payments infrastructure. Stablecoin payments platform RedotPay has raised $107 million in Series B funding led by Goodwater Capital with participation from Pantera Capital, Blockchain Capital, and Circle Ventures.
The company processes more than $10 billion in annualized payment volume, nearly tripling year-over-year, and generates more than $150 million in annual revenue and is profitable.
Beyond the top three, more than 20 companies secured large funding rounds, according to data compiled by Polygon's payments data scientist Alex Obchakevich.
Tempo also raised $500 million in a round led by Thrive Capital and Greenoaks, AlloyX secured $350 million, and Rail Financial and Moonpay each secured $200 million.
Observers believe investors are encouraged by the current pro-crypto stance of the White House, led by President Trump, who signed the GENIUS Act into law.
Which network will lead stablecoin payments in 2025?
Beyond the capital raise, 2025 saw further development of blockchain infrastructure with a focus on payments. Ovchakevich pointed out that more than 35 blockchain networks have recognized Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, and Base as top-tier payment chains, citing partnerships with Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Revolt, and others, among others.
He also spotlighted Tempo, Plasma, and Arc, calling them “part of a new wave of stablecoin infrastructure” that has emerged to optimize global payments and settlements, especially using stablecoins. He placed them all in the S tier.
Tron and Ripple remain of fundamental importance to payments projects, with Tron processing over half of all USDT stablecoin transactions worldwide.
Meanwhile, Celo has made significant contributions to stablecoin payments in Africa and Asia through projects such as MiniPay and Noah. Obchakevich placed Tron and Ripple in tier A, and others that emerged in the ecosystem were also categorized into groups, with some falling into tiers B, C, and finally D.
