Pantera Partner: Encryption as a Service is the SaaS Moment in the Blockchain Field

Author: Paul Veradittakit, Partner at Pantera Capital; Compiled by Golden Finance

Key Points

• Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS) is the “Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) in the blockchain space.” Banks and fintech companies no longer need to build crypto infrastructure from scratch. They can simply connect via APIs and white-label platforms to launch digital asset features within days or weeks, instead of spending years as before.
• Mainstream adoption of stablecoins is accelerating through three channels. Banks are partnering with custodians like Coinbase Custody, Anchorage, and BitGo, while actively exploring tokenized assets; fintech firms are issuing their own stablecoins using platforms like M^0; and payment processors such as Western Union (with annual transactions of $300 billion) and Zelle (over $1 trillion annually) are integrating stablecoins for instant, low-cost cross-border settlements.

Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS) is not complicated. Essentially, it is SaaS based on cryptocurrencies, making it much easier for institutions and enterprises to integrate into the crypto space. Banks, fintechs, and corporations no longer need to laboriously develop internal crypto functions. Instead, they can deploy quickly using proven APIs and white-label platforms. This allows companies to focus on their customers without worrying about blockchain complexity. They can leverage existing infrastructure to participate in crypto trading more efficiently and cost-effectively. In other words, they can seamlessly integrate into the digital asset ecosystem.

CaaS Is Ready for Exponential Growth

Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS) is a cloud-based business model and infrastructure solution that enables enterprises, fintech companies, and developers to incorporate cryptocurrency and blockchain functionalities into their operations without building or maintaining underlying technology from scratch. CaaS offers ready-to-use, scalable services typically delivered via APIs or white-label platforms, such as crypto wallets, trading engines, payment gateways, asset storage, custody, and compliance tools. This allows businesses to quickly offer digital asset features under their own brand, reducing development costs, time, and technical expertise. Like other “as-a-Service” products, this model allows companies of all sizes—from startups to established enterprises—to participate cost-effectively. By September 2025, Coinbase Institutional listed CaaS as one of its fastest-growing areas.

Since 2013, Pantera Capital has been committed to advancing CaaS through investments. We strategically fund infrastructure, tools, and technology to ensure large-scale operation of CaaS. By accelerating backend development of fund management, custody, and wallets, we have significantly enhanced the service level of CaaS.

Advantages of CaaS

Using Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS), enterprises can transparently embed crypto functionalities into their systems more quickly and cost-effectively, gaining numerous strategic and operational benefits, including:

• One-Stop Integration and Seamless Embedding: CaaS platforms eliminate the need for custom development cycles, enabling activation within days rather than months.
• Flexible Revenue Models: Companies can choose subscription-based pricing for predictable costs or pay-as-you-go billing aligned with usage, avoiding large upfront capital investments.
• Outsourcing Blockchain Complexity: Enterprises can offload technical management while benefiting from robust enterprise-grade backend systems that ensure near-perfect uptime, real-time monitoring, and automatic failover.
• Developer-Friendly APIs and SDKs: Developers can embed wallet creation and key management, handle on-chain settlements smoothly, trigger smart contract interactions, and create comprehensive sandbox environments.
• White-Label Branding and Intuitive Interfaces: CaaS solutions are customizable, allowing non-technical teams to configure fee structures, supported assets, and user onboarding processes.
• Additional Value-Added Features: Leading providers bundle auxiliary services such as on-chain fraud detection, automated tax reporting, multi-signature fund management, and cross-chain bridges for asset interoperability.

These features transform cryptocurrency from a technological novelty into a revenue-generating product line, while maintaining focus on core business capabilities.

Three Core Use Cases

We believe the world is rapidly evolving toward a crypto-native environment, with individuals and enterprises increasingly interacting with digital assets. This shift is driven by growing user acceptance of blockchain wallets, decentralized applications, and on-chain transactions, supported by improved user interfaces, extensive educational resources, and practical applications.

However, to truly mainstream crypto adoption, a robust and seamless bridge must be built to close the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi). Institutions seek the advantages of crypto—speed, programmability, and global access—while relying on trusted intermediaries to manage underlying complexities: tools, security, tech stacks, and liquidity.

Ultimately, this ecosystem integration could gradually bring billions of users onto the blockchain.

( Use Case 1: Banks

Banks are increasingly partnering with regulated crypto custodians like Coinbase Custody, Anchorage Digital, and BitGo to provide institutional-grade custody, insured storage, and seamless spot trading services for digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. These core services (custody, execution, and basic lending) are the easiest parts of crypto integration, enabling banks to onboard clients without forcing them out of traditional banking systems.

Beyond these essentials, banks can leverage decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to earn competitive yields on idle government bonds or customer deposits. For example, they can deploy stablecoins into permissionless lending markets (like Morpho, Aave, or Compound) or liquidity pools on automated market makers (AMMs) such as Uniswap, generating real-time, transparent returns often superior to traditional fixed-income products.

Tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) presents transformative opportunities. Banks can initiate and distribute on-chain versions of traditional securities (e.g., tokenized U.S. Treasuries, corporate bonds, private credit, or real estate funds issued via BlackRock’s BUIDL fund), bringing off-chain value onto public blockchains like Ethereum, Polygon, or Base. These RWAs can then be traded peer-to-peer via DeFi protocols such as Morpho (for optimized lending), Pendle (for yield splitting), or Centrifuge (for private credit pools), while ensuring KYC/AML compliance through whitelisted wallets or institutional vaults. RWAs can also serve as high-quality collateral in DeFi lending markets.

Crucially, banks can offer seamless stablecoin access without losing customers. Embedded wallets or custody sub-accounts allow clients to hold USDC, USDT, or FDIC-insured digital dollars directly within banking apps for payments, remittances, or yield farming, without leaving the bank’s ecosystem. This “walled garden” approach resembles a new bank but with regulated trust.

Looking ahead, major banks may form alliances to issue branded stablecoins backed 1:1 by reserves. These stablecoins could settle instantly on public chains and meet regulatory standards, connecting traditional finance with programmable money.

If a bank views blockchain as infrastructure rather than an ancillary tool, it is likely to unlock the next trillion-dollar value.

) Use Case 2: Fintech and Neobanks

Fintech firms and new banks are rapidly integrating crypto into their core products through strategic partnerships with platforms like Robinhood, Revolut, and Webull. These collaborations enable seamless, secure use of digital assets and instant trading of tokenized traditional securities, effectively bridging traditional finance and blockchain-based markets.

Beyond partnerships, fintech companies can build their own blockchain infrastructure using providers like Alchemy. As a leading blockchain development platform, Alchemy offers scalable node infrastructure, enhanced APIs, and developer tools that simplify creating custom Layer-1 or Layer-2 networks. This allows fintechs to tailor blockchains for specific use cases such as high-throughput payments, decentralized identity, or RWA, while ensuring compliance and optimizing for low latency and cost.

Fintechs can deepen their crypto involvement by issuing their own stablecoins and leveraging decentralized protocols like M^0 to mint yield-bearing, interchangeable stablecoins backed by high-quality collateral such as U.S. Treasuries. This on-demand issuance grants full control over the underlying economic mechanisms (interest accrual and redemption), with transparent on-chain reserves ensuring compliance and governance via decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). They can also benefit from enhanced liquidity pools on major exchanges and DeFi protocols, reducing fragmentation and increasing user adoption. This approach not only creates new revenue streams but also positions fintechs as innovators in programmable money, fostering customer loyalty in a competitive digital economy.

( Use Case 3: Payment Processors

Payment companies are building a “stablecoin sandwich”: a multi-layer cross-border settlement system that accepts fiat on one end and provides instant, low-cost liquidity in another jurisdiction, while minimizing FX spreads, intermediary fees, and settlement delays. The “sandwich” consists of:

1. Top slice (Deposit): U.S. customers send USD to payment providers like Stripe, Circle, Ripple, or Mercury (new banks).
2. Filling (Minting): USD is instantly exchanged 1:1 for regulated stablecoins—typically USDC (Circle), USDP (Paxos), or bank-issued digital dollars.
3. Bottom slice (Withdrawal): Stablecoins are bridged or swapped into local currency stablecoins—such as ARS (Argentine Peso peg), BRL (Brazil), or MXN (Mexico)—or directly into central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), like Brazil’s Drex.
4. Settlement: Funds arrive instantly (T+0) into local bank accounts, mobile wallets, or merchant payments, with total costs usually below 0.1%, compared to 3-7% via SWIFT + correspondent banks.

Western Union, with over 175 years of history and more than $300 billion annually in remittance volume, recently announced plans to integrate stablecoins into its ecosystem. CEO Devin McGranahan acknowledged in July 2025 that the company had been cautious about crypto due to volatility and regulation concerns, but the passage of the Genius Act changed that.

“With clearer rules, we see real opportunities to incorporate digital assets,” McGranahan said during the Q3 2025 earnings call. As a result, Western Union is actively testing stablecoin solutions for government bond settlement and customer payments, leveraging blockchain to bypass cumbersome correspondent banking processes.

P2P payment giant Zelle (owned by a consortium including JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo) processes over $1 trillion annually within the U.S. using simple phone numbers or email addresses, serving more than 230 million users across 1.5 million partners. Cross-border payments have long remained elusive. On October 24, 2025, Early Warning announced a stablecoin initiative to expand Zelle internationally, offering the same speed and reliability abroad.

As banks, fintechs, and payment processors adopt intuitive, plug-and-play, compliant crypto solutions (while minimizing regulatory hurdles), they can continue expanding their global influence and strengthening relationships.

Conclusion

CaaS is not hype—it signifies a fundamental infrastructure shift that makes crypto invisible to end users. Just as consumers don’t think of AWS when watching Netflix or Salesforce when viewing CRM, they won’t think of blockchain when making instant cross-border payments or accessing tokenized assets.

The winners of this transformation will not be those companies adding crypto as an afterthought to traditional systems, but those viewing blockchain as core infrastructure and the investors supporting the underlying technology.