Bakkt and Zoth have entered into a strategic partnership framework to build a compliant stablecoin payments infrastructure across the remittance corridor connecting the United States, South Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Africa.
According to a press release shared with crypto.news, the deal places the company under the Bakkt Financial Solutions I, LLC licensing structure, allowing Zoth to act as an authorized distributor while taking advantage of Bakkt’s US regulatory approval for corporate payment flows.
The Singapore-based company said the launch is expected to enable financial institutions and money transfer operators to move stablecoin-based payments through mass distribution channels, which have traditionally faced compliance hurdles.
The partnership expands on Bakkt Inc.’s stablecoin payments strategy, coming weeks after Bakkt Inc. completed its acquisition of Distributed Technologies Research (DTR), a payments infrastructure company focused on AI-native and agent trading systems. Bakkt said at the time that DTR trading will help create a 24/7 digital payments network powered by stablecoin rails for institutional finance.
Bakkt license becomes central to enterprise payment drive
According to Zoth, Bakkt offers a license stack that includes a U.S.-wide money transmitter license, FinCEN MSB registration, and BitLicense in New York through Bakkt Financial Solutions I, LLC. The company said enterprise payments operators need a licensed counterparty in the U.S. before expanding stablecoin payment activities into the regulated remittance market.
“By combining Bakkt’s US licensing stack with Zoth’s payments infrastructure and on-the-ground market operations, we are creating a template for how cross-border payments in the Global South will move from pilot to large-scale production. This partnership will not only benefit Zoth, but all of our enterprise partners who are waiting for a compliant, certified solution built to work,” said Pritam, co-founder and CEO of Zoth. Dutta said in an accompanying statement.
Bakkt previewed the partnership at its Investor Day event on March 17, 2026, where the company signaled plans to deepen its stablecoin payments operations after integrating DTR’s infrastructure.
Zoth currently processes approximately $300 million in total annual payments and expects this partnership to scale its activity toward $1 billion annually. The company noted that more than $75 million worth of yield products have already been sold through its platform.
Zoss said the partnership will initially focus on payment routes connecting the U.S. with South Asia, the Philippines, Nigeria and Gulf markets. The company also identified the UAE-to-South Asia corridor as the largest remittance route in the Middle East, and cited Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa as active African markets.
Zoss said the company’s existing operations include local banking and payments infrastructure across the GCC, Southeast Asia and South Asia, adding that major remittance operators in the Gulf region are already working with the company’s network through licensed local entities.
This partnership will add stablecoin payment efforts by institutional investors to a market that has recently seen increased activity from fintech and blockchain infrastructure companies. Bakkt has recently focused on proxy payments infrastructure through DTR, and combined with Zoth’s regional payments network, the two companies will compete with companies building regulated stablecoin payment systems for cross-border remittances.
Strategic partners listed by Zoth include Chainlink Labs, Olea Global Pte Ltd, and Intellitake Technologies Corp. The company said its product suite includes tokenized yield vaults, regulated treasury funds, cross-border payments orchestration tools, and AI agent-enabled payments services.
