Paxos Secures EU Market Entry with Membrane Finance Acquisition

Paxos, a leading regulated blockchain infrastructure platform, has announced plans to acquire Membrane Finance, a Finnish electronic money institution, in a strategic move to expand its presence in the European Union’s cryptocurrency market.

The all-stock acquisition, subject to regulatory approval, will enable Paxos to become a fully licensed Electronic Money Institution (EMI) in Finland and across the European Union. This move comes five months after the EU’s Markets in Crypto Asset (MiCA) regulations took effect, creating new opportunities for stablecoin issuers.

Walter Hessert, Head of Strategy at Paxos, highlighted the significance of the acquisition: “Stablecoins are becoming increasingly prevalent, offering global solutions for money movement and payments. With Membrane, we expect to extend our reach to EU customers.”

Membrane Finance, known for issuing the Ethereum-based EURe stablecoin, will provide Paxos with a regulated pathway to serve European customers. The company aims to ensure its asset portfolio and tokenization solutions comply with MiCA regulations, which require up to 60% of stablecoin reserves to be held at banks.

Paxos already partners with major global enterprises like PayPal, Mastercard, and Nubank, and issues several regulated digital assets including PayPal USD and Pax Dollar. The acquisition represents a significant step in the company’s global expansion strategy, building on its existing regulatory approvals in the United States, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi.

The deal positions Paxos to compete with other stablecoin issuers like Circle, which has already established a presence in the European market.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.