In what is believed to be the largest European pre-seed funding round of the year, UK fintech startup Velocity has emerged with US$10 million in early backing to develop a stablecoin infrastructure platform.
The initiative is aimed squarely at large enterprises grappling with outdated cross-border financial systems.
The round, led by US-based Activant Capital, brings together global investors and fintech insiders, underscoring growing confidence in stablecoins as a practical tool for enterprise-grade settlement — not just crypto speculation.
Founded by payments veterans Tom Greenwood (Volt, IFX) and Eric Queathem (Worldpay, McKinsey & Company), Velocity aims to modernize the back-end plumbing of global money movement.
Rather than displacing traditional finance, the startup sees itself as a connective layer between banks and the blockchain, offering modular infrastructure that enables businesses to operate seamlessly across fiat and digital currencies.
“We’re not chasing crypto hype,” Greenwood, who serves as CEO, said in a statement. “We’re leveraging stablecoins to remove friction, accelerate settlement, and drive improved performance in real-world financial operations.”
That friction remains a massive challenge in today’s corporate finance landscape.
Large businesses routinely rely on patchwork systems for international payments, liquidity and currency management — often involving multiple banking partners, outdated software and opaque fees.
Velocity says it is addressing that complexity with a programmable, artificial intelligence-enabled platform that integrates stablecoins into traditional financial operations without requiring companies to overhaul their existing systems.
Greenwood and Queathem bring decades of experience to the table. Greenwood previously founded Volt, a fintech firm focused on real-time payments, and IFX, a foreign exchange and payments firm. Queathem spent nearly 10 years at Worldpay, where he led global strategy during its expansion into both legacy and crypto-enabled markets.
“We’ve experienced first-hand the financial complexity of operating a global business — the fragmentation of providers, the lack of transparency, and the workarounds,” said Queathem, who holds the position of president.
“Velocity is built to eliminate that friction with infrastructure that scales, adapts, and solves the real-world problems large enterprises face every day when moving and managing money around the world.”
Their pitch appears to have resonated with investors who see a broader shift underway. Fuel Ventures (LSE:FVV), Triton Capital, Fabric Ventures, Commerce Ventures and Preface Ventures all joined the round, alongside strategic angels from companies like Visa (NYSE:V), PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL), Circle and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL).
For lead investor Activant Capital, the startup's timing aligns with what it sees as a generational opportunity to reshape how capital flows. “Tom and Eric bring the rare technical depth and regulatory fluency needed to build and scale a product like this,” said Andrew Steele, partner at Activant, in Wednesday's (May 28) release.
“We’ve shared this vision for years — and now is the time to bring it to life.”
Far from being a headwind, Velocity sees that regulatory movement as validation that the infrastructure moment for stablecoins has arrived. While Velocity hasn't disclosed specific clients or product launch dates, early pilot programs are underway, with large enterprises exploring digital treasury functions and cross-border liquidity optimization.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
