Wirex

Wirex is a regulated fintech platform founded in 2014 that bridges self-custodial crypto holdings and everyday spending through crypto-linked debit cards, a multi-currency wallet, and a purpose-built stablecoin payment chain — supporting Solana (SOL) as one of its natively held and spendable assets.

What Wirex Does

Wirex operates at the intersection of traditional finance and decentralised assets. Its consumer-facing product is a multi-asset wallet paired with Visa and Mastercard debit cards, enabling users to hold, exchange, earn yield on, and spend assets including SOL, BTC, ETH, XRP, stablecoins, and over 40 other tokens at more than 80 million merchant locations worldwide. The company holds Visa and Mastercard principal member status — a rarity among crypto-native platforms — and has issued over one million crypto debit cards to date.

For builders and enterprises, Wirex offers a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) layer and a Stablecoin API that lets third-party wallets, Web3 communities, and neobanks issue co-branded Visa/Mastercard cards backed by on-chain stablecoin balances, without managing card issuing infrastructure directly.

By early 2026, Wirex reported annualised stablecoin card payments surpassing $850 million, positioning it as one of the fastest-growing stablecoin payment networks in the world.

How It Works

Consumer App

Users deposit fiat or crypto into their Wirex account, where assets are held in a multi-currency wallet. When a card transaction is made, Wirex converts the selected asset to the local currency in real time and settles through Visa or Mastercard rails. The platform supports Apple Pay and Google Pay in eligible regions.

Account tiers scale with how much WXT (the Wirex Ecosystem Token) the user holds or locks: higher tiers unlock greater Cryptoback rewards (up to 8% cashback in WXT on card spending), higher transaction limits, and premium features. Card limits reach 30,000 euros per transaction, up to 100,000 euros over a six-month window.

Wirex Pay Chain

Wirex also operates Wirex Pay Chain (Chain ID: 31415), a purpose-built EVM-compatible blockchain designed for stablecoin payments and non-custodial card issuance. It is built on Polygon CDK using a ZK Validium architecture — ZK proofs for settlement security with off-chain data availability for cost efficiency. The chain integrates with Polygon AggLayer for cross-chain EVM interoperability and uses EigenLayer AVS for on-chain/off-chain reconciliation.

Account Abstraction enables users to spend stablecoins directly from non-custodial wallets at point-of-sale without requiring on-chain transaction signing for every payment — a key UX advance for mainstream adoption.

Supported stablecoins on-chain include USDT, USDC, and DAI. Node operators secure the network and share in 20% of WPAY token supply and 40% of transaction revenue over a five-year distribution schedule.

Key Features

• Crypto debit cards: Virtual and physical cards across 35+ European countries and APAC/LATAM markets
• Cryptoback rewards: Up to 8% cashback in WXT on card purchases
• X-Accounts: Multi-currency accounts supporting fiat and crypto simultaneously
• Savings and yield: Fixed savings, flexible savings, and DUO dual-investment products
• BaaS and Stablecoin API: White-label card issuance infrastructure for third-party wallets and Web3 applications
• Wirex Agents: AI-driven stablecoin card automation and autonomous micropayments (launched March 2026), integrated with Visa Agentic Ready Programme
• Wirex One: Private banking tier launched May 2026, targeting high-net-worth crypto users
• Multi-chain support: Wirex card and payment infrastructure supports assets across Solana, Ethereum, Stellar, TRON, Base, and others

Tokens

WXT (Wirex Token) is the platform loyalty and utility token, deployed on Ethereum and Stellar. It governs card tier eligibility, drives Cryptoback rewards, and offers a savings bonus of up to 12% annually on WXT balances. WXT is not a governance token for the Wirex Pay Chain; it is the rewards layer for the consumer app.

WPAY (Wirex Pay Governance Token) is the native token of the Wirex Pay Chain, with a fixed supply of 10 billion tokens. It is an ERC-20 on Polygon and bridgeable to Base via Stargate Finance. WPAY is used for staking, governance, and node operator compensation. Distribution allocates 38.14% to treasury, 20% each to team and node rewards, with vesting spanning three to five years post-TGE.

Team and Backing

Wirex was co-founded in 2014 by Pavel Matveev and Dmitry Lazarichev, who serve as co-CEOs. The company is headquartered in the UK with regulatory approvals across EU and UK jurisdictions, operating as a licensed Electronic Money Institution.

Notable institutional relationships include Visa principal membership, Mastercard principal membership, a technology partnership with Polygon for the Wirex Pay Chain, and a listing in Circle's official USDC partner network. Wirex publishes annual Transparency Reports.

2025-2026 Expansion

Wirex has been accelerating its multi-chain stablecoin infrastructure strategy. Recent milestones include:

• Base: Expanded stablecoin corporate payments for Wirex Business on the Coinbase L2 (May 2025)
• Stellar: Partnership with Ultra Stellar for native payment infrastructure on Stellar/Soroban (April 2026)
• TRON: TRON-native payment infrastructure for agentic payments (January 2026)
• Fireblocks: Institutional stablecoin payments integration (2025)
• Crossmint: Next-generation global wallet infrastructure (November 2025)
• US market: Stablecoin payment expansion via Bridge.xyz partnership (2025)
• Visa Direct: Push-to-card payments reaching 3 billion cards worldwide (February 2026)

Solana Ecosystem Fit

Wirex includes SOL among its supported holdable and spendable assets in the consumer wallet, meaning Solana users can hold SOL in Wirex, earn Cryptoback rewards in WXT, and spend SOL-denominated value at Visa/Mastercard merchants worldwide. The platform open BaaS model also means Solana-native wallets could leverage Wirex card issuance infrastructure.

The Wirex Pay Chain itself runs on Polygon CDK, not Solana, but Wirex multi-chain direction and stablecoin payment APIs mean further Solana integrations remain possible as the network expands. With over 6 million users, 80 million merchant acceptance points, and a growing institutional stablecoin rails business, Wirex represents a significant bridge for Solana holders seeking real-world spending utility for their SOL.