1Money Raises $20 Million to Launch Network for Stablecoin Payments

1Money emerged from stealth Thursday (Jan. 16), saying it raised over $20 million in seed capital and is developing Layer 1 protocol purpose-built for stablecoin payments.

The company will use the funding to launch the 1Money Network, and plans to launch it during the second quarter, it said in a press release.

“Stablecoins are poised to be the foundation for a new, modernized global financial system and the 1Money Network will help bridge the gap between current Web3 technology and mainstream adoption,” 1Money Co-founder and CEO Brian Shroder said in the release. “1Money will make stablecoin payments more accessible and practical for everyday use cases — from paying friends to making eCommerce purchases and sending remittances.”

Shroder is a former president and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance.US, having served in those roles from August 2021 through September 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Focused solely on stablecoin payments, the 1Money Network aims to eliminate long delays, volatile “surge pricing” fees, security vulnerabilities and compliance issues, according to the 1Money press release.

It will enable users to send and receive stablecoins in under a second, offer “industry-low” transaction fees, accommodate multiple stablecoin tokens across various currencies, charge transaction fees in the same stablecoin used, and include native, embedded compliance mechanisms, the release said.

The network will also meet global demand with its capacity to handle over 250,000 transactions per second and to grow, per the release.

Ed Roman, co-founder and managing partner at Hack VC, one of the participants in the funding round, said in the release: “The company’s purpose-built solution delivers what businesses and users actually need: instant settlement, low and predictable fees, robust security and seamless compliance — all while maintaining the core benefits of Web3 technology.”

Several traditional financial firms are currently participating in stablecoin-centric banking pilots, PYMNTS reported Tuesday (Jan. 14).

Chris Colson, payments expert at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, wrote in a Monday (Jan. 14) blog post that the “foundation is forming” for stablecoins to become a universal payment method.

“Today, stablecoins are moving into the mainstream and showing up in unexpected places like food delivery services, gas stations and retailers,” Colson wrote.