Reinventing Forex : How SatoshiPay and Blue Star Are Building Finance 3.0
“…As the potential of its bold Forex proposition becomes clearer, and crypto continues to win broader market acceptance, the conditions seem in place for Blue Star Capital to shine ever more brightly over the next few months…”
The value of investment firm Blue Star Capital (AIM:BLU) has soared by more than 360pc this year as it has forged ahead with groundbreaking technologies designed to bring blockchain to the world’s foreign exchange markets.
Blue Star also has stakes in the rapidly developing esports and biometric sectors, but the company’s flagship interest is a more than 50pc holding in SatoshiPay, focused on integrating blockchain technology into the massive foreign exchange (Forex) market, where more than $6tn worth of currencies are traded every day. SatoshiPay is working to allow Forex traders and other business to business customers to transact, trade, and earn interest without banks or middlemen.
SatoshiPay was founded in 2014 by blockchain pioneer Meinhard Benn, a Non-Executive Director and significant shareholder at Blue Star, to facilitate frictionless micropayments through decentralised finance (DeFi) networks. It has since become an incubator for the development of next generation blockchain platforms.
SatoshiPay’s Forex system uses two core technologies. Pendulum Chain was incubated and developed by SatoshiPay and is a blockchain optimised for the seamless exchange of tokens representing government-issued currencies. Pendulum acts as a bridge between ‘fiat’ money – a crypto term for regular money – and DeFi networks. Entire DeFi ecosystems can be developed on the chain, including lending protocols and Forex optimised money markets.
Vortex Finance, which was also incubated and is still 100pc owned by SatoshiPay, is one such system, a cross-border payments platform running on Pendulum’s infrastructure. Vortex allows stablecoin cryptocurrencies to be seamlessly converted into fiat currencies, opening up the foreign exchange markets to all of the efficiency and cost savings associated with smooth blockchain transactions.
The rise of stablecoins
To fully appreciate the radical possibilities opened by Vortex, it’s worth pausing to explain exactly what stablecoins are and why they are growing so rapidly.
A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency that allows users to trade digital coins without contending with the volatility associated with tokens such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. Tied to assets, a stablecoin retains its value when exchanged, emulating the stability of regular money. So for every stablecoin worth a dollar, a dollar worth of assets is kept in reserve. Some stablecoins, like Tether (USDT) or USD Coin, are backed by real money or assets held in banks. Others are backed by other cryptocurrencies, blockchain smart contracts being used to keep their prices stable. The DAI stablecoin, for example, is backed by Ethereum.
This stability makes them effective stores of value. Traders can use stablecoins to enter and exit cryptocurrency markets, moving their money in and out of them safe in the knowledge that their value will hold. In brief, they play much the same role in the world of blockchain as cash does in the world of fiat money.
And while offering this stability they offer all the classic advantages of cryptocurrencies. They can be traded on smooth blockchain infrastructures without the need for bank accounts. There are no hefty Visa, Mastercard or SWIFT transaction fees and no delays. They are accepted by many retailers and businesses. And like other cryptocurrencies they can be used for cross-border payroll, supplier payments, and settlements between branches in different countries. Startups often use them as a bridge between traditional finance and blockchain.
SatoshiPay’s Vortex platform is flexible, designed to allow users to move seamlessly between fiat currencies and stablecoin. Vortex is now available in all 44 European countries, but is currently mainly used to support users in Brazil. New jurisdictions will be added once it has fully proven itself in the Brazilian market with volumes reaching a critical mass of $10m per month.
And it is cost effective. At 0.25pc Vortex’s fees are well below foreign exchange averages. While many providers offer ‘no fee’ while hiding a markup in the exchange rate Vortex is transparent, showing fees upfront. To use Vortex customers simply need to connect their cryptocurrency wallet and enter the amount in crypto they wish to sell. After entering their payment details on the partner site they return to the Vortex platform to confirm the transaction and receive their payment. The platform is optimised for business as well as individuals: Vortex offers tailored solutions for companies looking to integrate their platform into their services.
Vortex is well positioned to take advantage of the rapidly growing market for stablecoins. Cross-border stablecoin payments were valued at $27bn in 2023 and are projected to reach $137bn by 2028, rapid growth indicating a $14bn volume market opportunity over the next four years.
This summer the US took a big step towards the digitisation of national and cross-border payment systems when Congress passed the Genius Act to create a legal framework for US dollar-denominated privately issued stablecoins. Although they have not (yet) followed the US in approving the issue of private stablecoins, the EU, China and other jurisdictions are developing central bank digital currencies, which can be thought of as publicly issued stablecoins.
The developments mark growing recognition by established financial institutions and regulators of the role stablecoins are playing in catalysing improvements in financial markets, forcing commercial and central banks to cut costs and increase efficiency. Faced with such disruptive competition many banks are reducing fees on cross-border payments and taking steps to tokenise their deposits to purpose them for blockchain-based transactions.
Writing in the Financial Times this month Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey noted the potential of stablecoins in ‘driving innovation in payments systems both at home and across borders’. The Governor said that ‘in the coming months’ the Bank of England will publish a consultation paper on the UK’s systemic stablecoin regime considering what standards they would need to meet. The paper will ‘set out that widely used UK stablecoins should have access to accounts at the BoE in order to reinforce their status as money.’
SatoshiPay’s progress this year
With Blue Star’s support, SatoshiPay has made strong progress this year. SatoshiPay entered the summer reporting accelerating growth, Vortex achieving $1m in transaction volumes since launching in Europe and Brazil, recording $507,000 of the total in May alone.
In June Blue Star announced it had increased its holding in SatoshiPay to 50pc, and the following month concluded a £1.15m placing, of which £1m was lent to SatoshiPay to support Vortex’s continued expansion and to develop SatoshiPay’s growing digital assets treasury.
A strategy paper published earlier this month described the company’s ‘Digital Asset Treasury’ as both a macroeconomic hedge and a source of strategic liquidity for Vortex. Noting that with inflation across Western economies proving persistent and sovereign bond yields offering minimal to negative real yields, the paper presented the Treasury as ‘a proactive and necessary step towards hedging against this risk’ and a resource for ‘uncorrelated returns.’
Blue Star Executive Chairman Anthony Fabrizi said the ‘fundraise means that not only can we support the next phase of growth in SatoshiPay, but … also positively contribute to accelerating it too.’ The funds would allow ‘Blue Star shareholders to participate in the increased global interest in businesses operating in crypto related fields and associated treasury positions.’
As TMS reported this summer, ‘Bitcoin treasuries’ have grown spectacularly over the past year, with companies taking advantage of crypto’s long rally to buy up as many coins as they can afford, and holding them as they might hold cash or bonds.
Blue Star’s strategy is bearing fruit, the company reporting earlier this month that since its inception the Treasury has realised and withdrawn yield of €21,647.70, rising at an average annualised rate of 18.76pc based on yield realised since 27 August this year. The gross portfolio value of the Treasury stood at €1,228,677 (€1,203,585 excluding the current yield).
Blue Star invested another €250,000 into SatoshiPay earlier this month, and has an option to inject the same amount on the same terms early next year. Mr Fabrizi said SatoshiPay ‘will use the funds to accelerate its South American market expansion and broaden blockchain integrations across key networks … strengthening its multi-chain and interoperability capabilities,’
An operations update included in the same announcement reported that SatoshiPay had launched an API to allow clients already transacting substantial volumes through Vortex to automate their flows and increase frequencies. Vortex is also in ‘advanced discussions regarding integrating with a leading global crypto-fiat gateway aggregator’ to connect more than 50 wallet platforms and exchanges that ‘may open access to a broad, high-margin customer base and further expand Vortex’s commercial reach.’
Mr Fabrizi said: ‘The recent improvements in the Vortex platform lay the foundations for significant future growth and we look forward to updating the market with their progress during the remainder of the year.’
Esports and biometrics: Blue Star’s other interests
Though focused on SatoshiPay, Blue Star holds a set of other intriguing digital investments. Dynasty Gaming & Media is a white-label esports ecosystem designed to open the community-building possibilities offered by games to brands that lack the infrastructure or local resources to reach audiences across regions with different regulatory requirements.
Dynasty bridges the gap with a comprehensive customisable platform that can ‘scale instantly and localise precisely’ to connect brands with gaming communities. The platform includes everything needed to build engaging gaming communities and esports ecosystems, allowing clients to run tournaments at any scale with automated brackets, leaderboards, and custom rules; to integrate marketplaces with virtual currencies, reward systems and monetisation options; and to integrate community features such as chat, social feeds and forums, all equipped with moderation tools and engagement analytics. Working examples of Dynasty in use can be viewed at letsplaylive.
Blue Star has an interest in another gaming platform, Paida Gaming, designed to amplify gaming experiences across community platforms such as Discord and Twitch. The platform enables participants to join like-minded gamers to share content, chat, game together, and earn rewards.
Blue Star also has a stake in FinGo, developing biometric identification solutions with finger vein mapping technology. FinGo scans individuals’ unique vein patterns to identify internal biometrics which cannot be traced or copied, and which can be used to verify payments, age and security access. Removing the need to rely on cards, documents or devices FinGo has been approved for use by institutions including the Manchester City Council Licensing Authority.
Outlook
Blue Star has been one of 2025’s AIM stars, rising rapidly as cryptocurrencies have soared, stablecoins have won growing acceptance, Bitcoin treasuries have gone mainstream, and SatoshiPay has continued to build out its groundbreaking blockchain infrastructures. The company traded at just under 12p at the time of writing, up more than 360pc over the past year, taking it to a market cap of £5.5m.
As the potential of its bold Forex proposition becomes clearer, and crypto continues to win broader market acceptance, the conditions seem in place for Blue Star Capital to shine ever more brightly over the next few months.
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