Stablecoins Surge... Aroot Draws Attention as Partner of U.S. Sphere Labs, a "Platform Processing Billions of Dollars Annually"

As the stablecoin market expands into real-economy applications such as business-to-business (B2B) trade payments and international remittances, companies with the infrastructure to support these payments are attracting attention. Aroot, a KOSDAQ-listed company, is seeking to enter the global trade payments market through a partnership with Sphere Labs, a U.S. digital payments infrastructure company that processes billions of dollars in payments annually.

According to global consulting firm McKinsey and blockchain analytics company Artemis Analytics, actual stablecoin payment volume last year reached approximately $390 billion on an annualized basis (about KRW 530 trillion), more than double the 2024 figure. B2B payments accounted for approximately $226 billion (about KRW 307 trillion), or around 60% of the total. However, they represent only about 0.01% of the global market for payments between businesses, suggesting significant growth potential.

Overseas payment companies are also moving quickly to secure related infrastructure. Global payments platform Stripe completed its acquisition of Bridge, a company specializing in stablecoin infrastructure, in February last year. Financial technology companies that have competed in the international remittance market are also combining API-based payments with stablecoins to expand cross-border payment services for business customers.

Among them, U.S. digital payments infrastructure company Sphere Labs supports cross-border payments in more than 160 markets through its proprietary payment platform, SpherePay. It has more than 200 corporate and institutional customers and processes billions of dollars in payments annually.

Sphere Labs touts financial infrastructure that combines a global payments network with regulatory compliance capabilities as a competitive advantage. It enables corporate customers to send and receive payments for overseas transactions without building payment networks in each country, and applies know-your-customer (KYC), know-your-business (KYB), and anti-money laundering (AML) procedures during the payment process.

Kazakhstan, which Sphere Labs is eyeing as a hub for its partnership, is a center of trade where energy and mineral exports intersect with Eurasian logistics. According to Kazakhstan’s Bureau of National Statistics, the country’s foreign trade volume reached $143.9 billion (about KRW 196 trillion) last year. As freight volumes on international transport routes connecting China and Europe have also increased, demand for cross-border payments, including payments for imports and exports and logistics costs, is growing.

Aroot recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sphere Labs to explore ways to cooperate on trade payment services, focusing on Kazakhstan. The two companies plan to consider integrating Aroot’s digital finance platform, FORTA, with SpherePay and discuss cooperation on corporate payment services between Kazakhstan and its major trading partners.

Through its local subsidiary in Kazakhstan, Aroot has obtained licenses from the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) to issue fiat-pegged stablecoins and provide digital asset custody services. It is pursuing a trade payments business using USDFT, a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, and FORTA. Through this partnership, the company aims to expand its global payments network.

Aroot is also considering linking these services with the Korean won payment and settlement services provided by its domestic payment gateway (PG) subsidiary, Most P&S. Its strategy is to broaden its fintech business by connecting a global payments network, local licenses, and its own platform.

An Aroot representative said, "Stablecoins are increasingly attracting attention as next-generation financial infrastructure that can make international remittances and B2B trade payments more efficient. Through our partnership with Sphere Labs, we will lay the groundwork for expanding FORTA and USDFT into the global corporate payments market."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.