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Circle Ventures Backs SA's CrissCross in Stablecoin Push

USDC issuer Circle has made an undisclosed investment in CrissCross, the Stitch-owned firm moving business payments across more than 30 African markets.

2 min read
James Cope, general manager of CrissCross, smiling in front of a pale panelled wall
Image: James Cope on LinkedIn, via TechCabal

[ The short version ]

  1. 01Circle Ventures, the venture arm of USDC issuer Circle, has made an undisclosed investment in CrissCross through its parent, South Africa's Stitch Group, TechCabal reports.
  2. 02CrissCross gives businesses one API to collect, pay out, hold and convert money in more than 30 African markets and over 20 currencies, using stablecoin or ordinary bank rails.
  3. 03It is Circle's second notable African bet this year, after it invested in Flutterwave in July.

CrissCross, a South Africa-headquartered cross-border payments company, has taken an undisclosed investment from Circle Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Circle Internet Group, which issues the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin, TechCabal reported on 27 October. The money went in through Stitch Group, the South African payments group that bought CrissCross early and now owns it.

CrissCross says it will use the funds to add local payment connections and liquidity, build more stablecoin settlement for enterprise customers, and grow its team. It was founded by Lex Campbell and Byron Coetsee.

What CrissCross does

Businesses get a single API to collect money through local methods such as bank transfers, mobile money and cards, make single or bulk payouts to bank accounts and mobile wallets, manage funds in several currencies, and convert between local currencies, US dollars and euros. Behind the scenes it can move value between markets with stablecoins and deliver local currency at the other end, choosing stablecoin or fiat rails by client, the company told TechCabal. It earns from the payments and conversions it processes.

30+
African markets CrissCross says it operates inIncluding both CFA franc zones, with more than 20 currencies (company claim, via TechCabal)

"Africa's cross-border payments market is massive, complex, and underserved," said James Cope, CrissCross's general manager. "Circle Ventures' investment validates what we've been building: infrastructure that can handle that complexity at scale." Brian Schultz, Circle's vice president of corporate development and ventures, called the continent's corridors "some of the most complex and underserved" in the world.

More from StartupsFlourish Puts $6M More Into Madica's Pre-Seed BetsMadica will back 25 to 30 more African startups with up to $200,000 each, as cheques of $100,000 to $1 million grow scarce across the continent.

Why Circle is buying in

Stablecoins are becoming part of Africa's payments plumbing. Sub-Saharan Africa received more than $205 billion in on-chain crypto value between July 2024 and June 2025, up 52% on the year before, according to figures cited by TechCabal. Circle invested in Nigeria's Flutterwave in July as Flutterwave expanded USDC settlement, and earlier in October CrissCross partnered with Velocity, a stablecoin treasury platform, to link institutional on-chain liquidity with local payouts.

Sources and notes
  • #CrissCross
  • #Circle
  • #Stitch
  • #stablecoins
  • #cross-borderpayments

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