Nodu raises £1.1m pre-seed to build compliant stablecoin rails for cross-border banking
This article covers Nodu, a London-based blockchain startup, securing £1.1m in pre-seed funding to build a European stablecoin infrastructure layer. The development aims to provide banks, payment providers and fintechs with a compliance-focused, plug-and-play way to send, receive and hold stablecoins for faster, lower-cost cross-border payments.
Nodu, a London-based blockchain startup, has secured pre-seed funding to build what it calls a European stablecoin infrastructure layer that connects digital assets with traditional finance. The move signals growing demand from banks, payment providers and fintechs for compliant, cross-border payment rails as regulators clarify rules for digital assets.
Why it matters
Europe is moving from regulatory uncertainty to clearer frameworks for digital assets, most notably through the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, MiCA. That shift is prompting banks, payment service providers and fintechs to explore stablecoins for faster, cheaper cross-border payments, but many lack in-house infrastructure that meets compliance and reporting requirements.
Nodu aims to be an intermediary for those institutions, offering a way to use stablecoins without building or managing blockchain plumbing and regulatory workflows. If it succeeds, it could help incumbent financial institutions participate in digital payments while limiting operational and compliance risk.
Inside the product
Nodu provides a plug-and-play platform that lets banks, fintechs and businesses send, receive and hold stablecoins with compliance and reporting handled automatically. The company says its stack merges fiat and crypto payment rails into a single regulated flow so fiat payouts and stablecoin transfers behave like traditional currency movements from a customer perspective.
Key product points from the announcement:
- Off-ramp capability in over 100 countries to enable instant, low-cost fiat payouts.
- A long-term ambition to link more than 170 countries into a single payments network.
- Go-to-market via B2B2B and B2B2C models, with revenue from transaction fees and subscriptions.
- Built by the team behind Crassula, a European fintech platform with roots in Latvia. Nodu was founded in 2025 by Alex Novozhenov, Vladislav Nikolayev and Daria Dubinina.
The company positions itself as a European alternative to US-based infrastructure providers such as Zerohash and Bridge, emphasising regulated flows and compliance coverage for financial institutions that are cautious about custody and counterparty risk.
Who are the investors?
Nodu has raised £1.1 million in a pre-seed round led by Digital Space Ventures, a Luxembourg-based venture capital firm whose early bets include Revolut and PaySend. The new capital will be used to expand Nodu’s global coverage, grow its engineering and compliance teams, and deepen partnerships with banks and fintechs across Europe and beyond.
In the announcement, Andrei Popov, Managing Partner at Digital Space Ventures, said:
The world is shifting toward digital money and programmable finance. By 2030, most major currencies are expected to exist in stablecoin form. Financial institutions are actively looking for reliable partners to bridge fiat and stablecoin ecosystems, and Nodu is building the rails that will move the industry forward. That’s why we’re proud to support them.
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Founder perspective
Nodu’s founders frame the product as a response to demand from banks that want access to digital asset payments but not the operational burden. The team comes from Crassula, giving them prior experience building fintech plumbing in Europe.
In the announcement, Alex Novozhenov, CEO and co-founder of Nodu, said:
Banks wanted to join the digital asset economy, but lacked safe, compliant tools. Nodu was built to change that. With stablecoins, global payments should take seconds, not days, and cost cents, not tens of dollars. Our mission is to make that infrastructure invisible, automatic, and globally accessible.
The company argues that its compliance-forward approach and broad off-ramp coverage are differentiators for institutions wary of custody and AML exposure.
The bigger picture
Nodu’s raise arrives as European regulatory clarity and commercial interest converge. MiCA is lowering a key obstacle for institutional participation in crypto markets, and payment incumbents are testing ways to shorten settlement times and reduce cross-border fees. This deal reflects growing interest from blockchain investors in compliant stablecoin infrastructure that bridges traditional finance and tokenised money.
If Nodu can build trusted rails and attract bank integrations, it could be one of several specialised infrastructure providers vying to become the backbone of regulated digital payments in Europe. The outcome will matter to UK and European banks, regulators and fintechs as they decide whether to adopt stablecoins as part of mainstream payment stacks.
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