Gravity Team has launched an institutional over-the-counter (OTC) desk that settles cryptocurrency transactions directly into local fiat currencies across more than 20 emerging-market countries, eliminating the intermediaries that typically slow cross-border crypto payments. The desk completes stablecoin settlements in under 60 seconds and offers same-day fiat settlement where local banking conditions permit, targeting payment service providers, fintechs, and brokers moving capital into regions where traditional banking infrastructure creates bottlenecks.

Why Does Correspondent Banking Create Problems for Crypto Payments?

Traditional OTC providers rely on correspondent banking chains to move money across borders. These chains involve multiple intermediaries, each adding processing time and fees. In emerging markets, this structure can cause settlement delays and, in some corridors, returned wires that disrupt inbound capital flows. Gravity Team's approach replaces this model with direct relationships to local banks and payment rails in destination markets, allowing transactions to settle directly without routing through multiple intermediaries.

The timing of this launch reflects real momentum in emerging-market crypto adoption. Asia-Pacific recorded a 69% year-on-year increase in transaction volume in 2025, reaching USD 2.36 trillion, while Latin America saw 63% growth. These regions represent significant opportunity for institutional capital movement, but the infrastructure to move that capital efficiently has lagged behind demand.

How Does Gravity Team's OTC Desk Operate?

• Settlement Speed: Stablecoin transactions settle in under 60 seconds, with T+0 fiat settlement available where local banking infrastructure supports it.
• Asset Coverage: The desk executes and converts across stablecoins, major digital assets, and more than 20 fiat currencies, including both major global currencies and emerging-market-specific options.
• Principal Counterparty Model: Gravity Team acts as the principal counterparty on transactions within pre-agreed size, price, and volatility parameters, with quotes confirmed in advance and defined validity windows to reduce exposure to anonymous order-book trading for large positions.
• Geographic Reach: Direct local banking relationships span more than 20 countries, enabling settlement in destination markets without correspondent routing.

This structure is designed for institutional clients moving large amounts of capital. By acting as a principal counterparty with pre-confirmed quotes, the desk reduces the slippage and price uncertainty that traders face on public order books when executing large positions.

Gravity Team has operated since 2017, building quantitative trading infrastructure, exchange connectivity, and banking relationships to support institutional-scale digital asset movement. The company states it facilitates more than USD 500 billion in cumulative spot trading volume across its entities, with connectivity to more than 40 exchanges in over 45 countries, representing an estimated 1% of global crypto spot volume.

"The firm has focused on building banking relationships in markets where correspondent banking structures create friction, alongside liquidity access on local crypto-fiat exchanges, and described the OTC desk as bringing these capabilities together for external counterparties for the first time," said Mārtiņš Beņķītis, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gravity Team.

Mārtiņš Beņķītis, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Gravity Team

What Broader Trends Support This Infrastructure Play?

The OTC desk launch reflects a shift in how stablecoins and digital assets are being used for real-world payments. Global stablecoin transactions reached USD 33 trillion in 2025, of which an estimated USD 390 billion related to real-world payments. Citi projects this figure could rise to as much as USD 4 trillion by 2030. More significantly, business-to-business stablecoin payments grew sevenfold year on year, outpacing other real-economy use cases, according to research from McKinsey and Artemis published in 2025.

These statistics suggest that institutional adoption of crypto for cross-border payments is accelerating, particularly in emerging markets where traditional banking infrastructure is less developed or more expensive. Gravity Team's OTC desk positions itself to capture a portion of this flow by solving a specific, high-friction problem: how to move large amounts of capital into emerging markets without the delays and costs of correspondent banking.

The launch marks Gravity Team's shift from an internal liquidity and market-making function toward offering its infrastructure directly to institutional clients operating in emerging-market digital finance. Rather than competing on price or speed alone, the company is betting that direct banking relationships and local payment rails represent a structural advantage that order-book trading cannot replicate.