From Crypto-Remote to Crypto-Inside: how PSPs are adopting stablecoins

Fireblocks' Ran Goldi explores how PSPs are adopting digital assets, moving closer to crypto integration, driven largely by stablecoins.

 

What if you could go from ‘we don’t touch crypto’ to ‘we settle on-chain in production’—in just six months?

That’s not a hypothetical. It’s the actual journey we’ve gone through with more than 300 payment service providers, fintechs, and banks—helping them level up from early-stage exploration to full production. In our latest State of Stablecoins research, 90% of institutions say they’re live, implementing, or planning stablecoin payment flows. That’s not just growing interest—it’s a complete reset of payment infrastructure already underway.

To make sense of that journey, we use a simple framework: a map with three gates. Crypto-Remote → Crypto-Related → Crypto-Inside. Each gate gets you closer to tighter control, better margins, and a more seamless customer experience.

Think of it like playing Super Mario. You dodge roadblocks, pick up power-ups, and unlock boss-level capabilities. The further you go, the more your business levels up (Figure 1).

Figure 1

Source: Fireblocks

The crypto posture journey: from Crypto-Remote to Crypto-Inside

We’ve seen hundreds of PSPs follow the same adoption curve—with three distinct phases that shape their posture, priorities, and potential.

Crypto-Remote: ‘We’ll play, but keep our distance’

This is where most payment service providers begin. They offer stablecoin-based services to customers but keep all crypto operations at arm’s length: no wallets, no keys, and no digital assets on the books.

Why? Compliance teams may be unsure of licensing requirements. Finance departments may resist the accounting implications of holding crypto. Legal and risk leaders may still be weighing operational exposure. Meanwhile, engineering and product teams may be focused elsewhere.

How it works:

You partner with a licensed third-party to handle digital asset components. Your rails stay fiat and theirs handle the crypto. For example, if a merchant wants to send a stablecoin payout, the PSP processes fiat through its usual rails, while the third party handles on-ramping, conversion, and settlement. The PSP never touches the assets.

Why PSPs like it:

• Fast go-to-market: Minimal lift required from internal teams.
• Minimal risk: Crypto-Related activity is externalised.
• Proof of concept: Teams gain insight into workflows and user needs.

What it limits:

• Control: Third parties mediate the user experience and flow.
• Margin opportunity: PSPs forgo revenue otherwise captured from settlement and spread.
• Strategic depth: Without internal crypto capabilities, the PSP remains reliant on external infrastructure.

Example:

Shift4 illustrates this model. They enable stablecoin payouts without handling assets directly, using Bridge to orchestrate on-chain flows—while Bridge itself runs on Fireblocks.

Crypto-Related: ‘One foot in, one foot out’

After initial traction, PSPs want more control—but not the full stack. They’ve validated demand. They’ve proven the use case. Now they want to manage more of the flow, without fully taking on the responsibility of infrastructure.

This is where licensing talks start. Treasury starts thinking about float. Engineering starts diagramming wallet management. Legal frameworks are reviewed. This is the ‘maybe we should actually own this thing’ moment.

How it works:

The PSP owns accounts at a licensed exchange or custodian. They now have stablecoins on the balance sheet, but they still rely on partners to manage keys and wallets. The PSP is no longer removed from crypto—they’re in the ecosystem, with visible exposure and increasing internal touchpoints.

Why this posture appeals:

• More margin: PSPs can now participate directly in conversion and settlement.
• Tighter control: Access to real-time funds movement and reporting.
• Operational maturity: Teams develop the compliance, treasury, and product muscle to support digital assets at scale.

What this posture requires:

• Risk muscle: Regulatory, financial, and reputational exposure increases as market volatility, fraud, and counterparty concerns now sit closer to home.
• Cross-team coordination: Treasury, legal, compliance, and engineering must align.
• Policy infrastructure: Enforcement of transaction limits, wallet whitelisting, and audit trails becomes essential as reporting obligations and internal governance expectations increase.

Example:

Checkout.com exemplifies this middle posture. They bridge fiat and crypto, with stablecoin flows touching their balance sheet—while continuing to rely on trusted partners for digital asset management. They’re building muscle without taking on the full lift.

Crypto-Inside: ‘We know Kung Fu’

This is the final gate—and the most transformative. At this stage, stablecoin payments are no longer an add-on; they are embedded in the PSP’s core infrastructure. The business doesn’t just enable digital asset flows—it architects them. Operations, compliance, product, and engineering work in lockstep, because crypto is no longer a parallel experiment. It’s part of the company’s operating system.

How it works:

You run wallets, hold private keys, manage on-chain liquidity, and set policy internally. Compliance, product, engineering—they’re all synced. This requires substantial investment in infrastructure, licensing, and talent, but it also unlocks full control over margin, margin, and user experience.

Why they do it:

• Full margin capture: PSPs eliminate intermediaries and stop paying rent to third parties.
• Competitive defensibility: Owning more of the stack makes it harder for others to replicate the offering.
• Speed and differentiation: Real-time settlement and custom UX become standard, not aspirational.

What this posture requires:

• Licensing: The ability to issue, transmit, or custody digital assets—often across jurisdictions.
• Infrastructure: A stack that is secure, extensible, and enterprise-grade.
• Org-wide alignment: Success depends on coordination across product, risk, treasury, compliance, and engineering.
• Balance sheet exposure: Stablecoins become part of working capital, subject to liquidity, hedging, and accounting strategy.

Example:

When Conduit launched, they didn’t take an incremental approach—they built for Crypto-Inside from day one. Their infrastructure gave them full control over on-chain settlement, and their integration with the Circle Payments Network allowed them to deliver real-time payments across global corridors. Fireblocks provides the security backbone, but Conduit owns the experience end-to-end.

Crypto-Remote works—until it doesn’t

For many PSPs, starting out Crypto-Remote isn’t just easier—it’s smarter. It gets you to market quickly, with lower risk and minimal investment. It’s how you learn, build internal buy-in, and meet immediate client demand.

But eventually, it starts holding you back.

Because the PSPs moving through the gates aren’t standing still. They’re compounding their lead: more expertise, more policy muscle, more defensibility.

What used to be a moat becomes a gap.

Figure 2

Source: Fireblocks

Final word: you can’t outsource forever

Stablecoins are not just a new way to move money. They’re becoming the standard for modern payment infrastructure—faster, cheaper, programmable, and global by default.

You don’t have to build everything on day one. But you do need to start moving. Because eventually, every PSP will hit the same realisation: you don’t just want to offer stablecoin payments. You want to own them.

You don’t have to know Kung Fu today. But you should probably start stretching.

 

This editorial piece was originally published in The Paypers’ Web 3 Payment Acceptance Report 2025. The report highlights the current landscape of Web 3 payments, including their rapid growth, high adoption rates, and underlying drivers. It also explores key players in the field, regulatory advancements, the role of AI in crypto and blockchain, and more.

 

About the author

Ran Goldi is the SVP of Payments and Network at Fireblocks, where he drives blockchain-powered payment solutions. Previously, he was CEO of First Digital, a stablecoin and CBDC payment firm acquired by Fireblocks. He co-founded an algorithmic trading company, led IT investments for a private equity fund, and served as a VP at a London Stock Exchange-listed firm.

 

 

 

About Fireblocks

Fireblocks is the most trusted digital asset infrastructure provider, enabling businesses to build, run, and scale on the blockchain. With best-in-class security and a seamless platform, Fireblocks supports custody, tokenization, payments, and settlement for over 2,000 organisations—including BNY Mellon, Galaxy, and Revolut—securing USD 10+ trillion in transactions across 100+ blockchains. Learn more at fireblocks.com.