Tether.io Acquires Kotani Pay: Expanding Africa's Stablecoin Access

Tether.io has acquired Kotani Pay for an undisclosed amount, signaling a strategic move to enhance stablecoin utility and expand its presence in the African market.

This acquisition marks a significant corporate transaction where Tether.io has bought the African on-ramp and off-ramp platform, rather than participating in a funding round.

Kotani Pay is known as Africa’s reliable platform for converting fiat to stablecoins and stablecoins back to fiat, enabling businesses to remit to the continent through local payment channels.

Its offerings include stablecoin settlement solutions, API integration for seamless access to local payment channels across Africa, and USSD services for direct mobile money on and off-ramps.

The platform supports major stablecoins like USDT, USDC, and cUSD, connecting Web3 users to local currencies and providing essential last-mile payout services for digital asset and blockchain-based operations.

The acquisition is highly strategic for Tether.io, a leading entity in the stablecoin sector. By bringing Kotani Pay under its umbrella, Tether.

io aims to deepen its integration with the African financial ecosystem and provide more accessible, affordable, and secure transaction processes for its stablecoin users.

This move is designed to leverage Kotani Pay’s robust infrastructure and local market expertise to facilitate greater adoption and utility of stablecoins within the continent, addressing diverse use cases such as remittance, lending, and business financing.

Expected synergies include an acceleration in the adoption of stablecoin-based transactions throughout Africa, benefiting from Kotani Pay’s existing integrations and user base.

The combined entity is poised to offer enhanced liquidity and improved on/off-ramp solutions, strengthening the bridge between traditional finance and the digital asset economy across Africa.

This integration is anticipated to streamline cross-border payments and foster economic participation by providing a more efficient and cost-effective financial infrastructure.