When a large, multinational business settles payments through the conventional financial system, they are subject to banking hours and to possible delays. That’s why many big firms—airlines, hotels, stadiums, restaurant chains and others—are turning to stablecoins, which are built on blockchain technology and allow for instant, around-the-clock settlement. In response, startups are emerging to help the firms navigate this new landscape—including Cyclops, which aims to help payments companies expedite stablecoin adoption.
On Wednesday, Cyclops announced that it raised $8 million at an undisclosed valuation from Castle Island Ventures, F-Prime and Shift4 Payments.
“Our vision and our goal is to be that go-to platform that payments companies think of when they need to build different stablecoin solutions,” said co-CEO Alex Wilson, who launched Cyclops along with co-founders Pat Duffy and David Johnson.
Blade, the New York-based company where customers can use a helicopter to get to the airport, is an example of a firm that uses Cyclops. Wilson’s startup provides the stablecoin infrastructure for its new investor, Shift4, which is also the payments company used by Blade.
When Blade settles its payments with stablecoins, they are using Cyclops as the technological plumbing. Blue Origin, the Jeff Bezos-founded company that provides commercial visits to space, also uses Shift4 and Cyclops.
