1Money Launches Zero-Fee Stablecoin Platform After $20M Funding

The core of 1Money’s new platform is a direct challenge to established players in the stablecoin services sector. The company has explicitly positioned its offering against what it calls “legacy stablecoin service providers,” which it accuses of hindering ecosystem growth with “outrageously high monthly minimums and bloated fees.” In a stark departure from this model, the 1Money platform operates with “zero platform fees.” Instead, it will generate revenue solely through usage-based fees applied to transactions involving stablecoins and fiat currencies. This pricing strategy is designed to attract businesses and users who have been priced out or burdened by the fixed-cost structures of incumbent providers.

Brian Shroder, leveraging his experience as the former CEO of Binance.US, framed the launch as a pivotal moment. “For too long, legacy stablecoin service providers have held the ecosystem back… 1Money is ending that era,” Shroder stated in the company’s announcement. This sentiment underscores a broader trend in the crypto industry where new entrants are seeking to undercut established financial intermediaries by leveraging more efficient, blockchain-native business models. The $20 million in seed funding provides the necessary capital to execute this aggressive market-entry strategy and build initial traction.

The newly launched orchestration platform is not an end goal but a foundational step. According to the company, this platform will serve as the operational forerunner to 1Money’s planned layer-1 blockchain network specifically built for payments. This future network promises to extend the cost-saving philosophy even further by offering “no gas fees” for stablecoin payments. Gas fees, the transaction costs required to execute operations on a blockchain, are a significant point of friction and expense, particularly on congested networks like Ethereum.

By developing its own dedicated layer-1 blockchain, 1Money aims to control the entire transaction stack, potentially enabling higher speeds, greater scalability for payment processing, and the complete elimination of variable gas costs for users. This two-phase approach—first launching a fee-optimized service platform, then migrating it to a purpose-built, fee-free blockchain—demonstrates a calculated strategy to first capture market share with a compelling service and then deepen its competitive moat with proprietary technology.

1Money’s entry into the market arrives at a time of intense competition and regulatory scrutiny within the stablecoin and crypto payments sector. The involvement of Brian Shroder, a figure with substantial credibility from his tenure at a major U.S. crypto exchange, provides the venture with immediate name recognition and a nuanced understanding of the regulatory and operational challenges in the American market. The company’s focus on the United States, as indicated in the provided analysis, suggests a targeted approach to a key financial jurisdiction.

The company’s tagline of “zero platform fees” and a roadmap toward a gas-free blockchain network positions it squarely as a cost-efficiency play. This could appeal to a wide range of entities, from fintech startups and e-commerce businesses to remittance services, all of which are seeking cheaper and faster alternatives to traditional cross-border payment rails. If 1Money can successfully execute its vision, it could pressure established crypto service providers and traditional financial intermediaries to reevaluate their own fee structures, potentially accelerating the adoption of stablecoins for everyday transactions.