LI.FI Expands Execution Infrastructure to Support Stablecoin Payments and RWA

8 mins mins

LI.FI, the cross-chain execution infrastructure provider behind more than $60 billion in lifetime on-chain volume, is expanding its platform to support stablecoin payments and real-world asset (RWA) transfers through a suite of new infrastructure components designed to serve issuers, enterprises, and institutional users across 30+ blockchains.

The expansion centers on LI.FI 2.0, a three-component infrastructure upgrade announced by CEO Philipp Zentner that introduces Catalyst, Pioneer, and Glacis. Each component addresses a distinct gap in cross-chain execution that has historically limited stablecoin and RWA adoption beyond single-chain deployments.

LI.FI Broadens Its Infrastructure Beyond DeFi Swaps

LI.FI has operated primarily as a cross-chain DEX and bridge aggregator, routing trades and transfers across decentralized exchanges and bridging protocols. The 2.0 expansion shifts the protocol’s scope from swap optimization to full execution infrastructure for asset issuers.

Catalyst is an intents and solver marketplace that lets third-party solvers compete to fill cross-chain orders. Pioneer is LI.FI’s in-house enterprise solver, capable of bootstrapping liquidity on any new chain within one hour. Glacis, the most consequential component for the stablecoin and RWA thesis, aggregates interop token standards from major messaging protocols: OFT (LayerZero), NTT (Wormhole), ITS (Axelar), CCT (Chainlink), and Warp Token (Hyperlane).

Glacis includes an Airlift feature that enables mint/burn bridging with zero slippage regardless of transfer size. This is architecturally distinct from liquidity-pool-based bridging, where large transfers face significant price impact. For stablecoin issuers and RWA tokenizers moving hundreds of millions of dollars across chains, zero-slippage execution is a prerequisite, not a feature.

Zentner’s announcement explicitly named the target asset classes: “everything, from stablecoins to canonical tokens to RWAs to memecoins, will follow” interop token standards.

Why Stablecoin Payments and RWA Demand Cross-Chain Execution Now

The timing of LI.FI’s pivot aligns with a measurable shift in on-chain stablecoin activity. USDT0, operating on mint/burn interop rails compatible with LI.FI’s infrastructure, moved over $50 billion in its first 11 months. One transaction on those rails moved approximately $550 million for just $2.20 in fees.

That fee efficiency illustrates why Glacis-style infrastructure matters for issuers. Traditional liquidity-pool bridges charge proportional fees and impose slippage on large transfers. Mint/burn rails, aggregated through Glacis, eliminate both constraints. For institutional stablecoin settlement, where individual transfers can exceed $100 million, the cost difference is orders of magnitude.

Interop token standards now secure well over $250 billion in total asset value. The regulatory environment is also shifting: the GENIUS Act has triggered a wave of stablecoin launches from U.S. states, major wallets, and fintech providers, expanding the addressable market for cross-chain stablecoin routing. As Tether faces ongoing scrutiny over reserves and redemption, newer stablecoin entrants need multi-chain distribution infrastructure from day one.

RWA tokenization presents a parallel opportunity. Permissioned tokens representing bonds, treasuries, and real estate require the same cross-chain mobility as stablecoins but with additional compliance constraints. Glacis’s aggregation of multiple interop standards gives RWA issuers flexibility to choose their messaging layer without being locked into a single bridge provider.

Technical Architecture: How Glacis, Catalyst, and Pioneer Work Together

The three components form a layered execution stack. Glacis sits at the token standard layer, abstracting away the differences between LayerZero’s OFT, Wormhole’s NTT, and other messaging protocols. When a stablecoin issuer deploys tokens across five chains using three different interop standards, Glacis presents a unified interface for cross-chain transfers.

Catalyst operates above Glacis as a solver marketplace. When a user or application submits a cross-chain intent (e.g., “move 10M USDC from Ethereum to Arbitrum at the best rate”), solvers compete to fill the order. The marketplace design introduces price competition that benefits end users and applications.

Pioneer, LI.FI’s proprietary solver, serves as a reliability backstop. On newly launched chains where third-party solvers have not yet deployed, Pioneer can bootstrap liquidity within one hour. Catalyst repays solvers within approximately 30 minutes on average, reducing capital requirements for market makers.

For developers, the expansion means new SDK capabilities and API endpoints. LI.FI launched several execution products in 2026, including LI.FI Composer for multi-step transaction orchestration, LI.FI Earn for yield aggregation across 60+ chains, LI.FI Deposit, and LI.FI Intents for solver-based cross-chain execution. These tools give builders programmatic access to the full execution stack without managing individual bridge integrations.

The payment finality question, critical for stablecoin settlement, is addressed through the intent-based architecture. Unlike swap-based flows where finality depends on bridge confirmation times, intent-based execution lets solvers pre-fund the destination side, providing near-instant settlement while the actual cross-chain message settles asynchronously.

Ecosystem Scale: Partners, Volume, and Adoption Signals

LI.FI’s enterprise partner roster provides the distribution layer for its stablecoin and RWA infrastructure. The protocol’s B2B partners include Robinhood, Binance, Kraken, MetaMask, Phantom, Ledger, Hyperliquid, Circle, and Alipay, with approximately 1,000 integrations globally.

The protocol has processed over $60 billion in lifetime on-chain transaction volume across 30+ chains as of December 2025.

LI.FI Lifetime On-Chain Volume

$60B+

Across 30+ chains as of December 2025. Source: CoinDesk

Monthly volume grew 595% year-over-year, surging from $1.15 billion in October 2024 to $8 billion in October 2025.

Monthly Volume Growth (Oct 2024 → Oct 2025)

595%

$1.15B → $8B per month year-over-year. Source: CoinDesk

Circle’s presence as a partner is particularly significant for stablecoin infrastructure. As the issuer of USDC, Circle’s integration with LI.FI means the protocol’s Glacis-powered mint/burn rails could serve as native cross-chain settlement for USDC transfers, similar to how CCTP already operates but aggregated alongside competing standards.

The inclusion of Alipay signals ambitions beyond crypto-native use cases. Payment providers processing fiat-to-stablecoin flows need reliable cross-chain execution that meets payment-grade latency and finality requirements. Institutions exploring Ethereum-based treasury strategies also benefit from infrastructure that can move tokenized assets across chains without fragmented liquidity.

Funding and Competitive Position in Cross-Chain Interoperability

LI.FI raised a $29 million Series A extension in December 2025, led by Multicoin Capital and CoinFund, bringing total funding to $51.7 million. The capital was earmarked for stablecoin infrastructure and AI agent tooling.

Zentner announced the raise on X, stating he was “more aggressive and committed than ever to build the universal liquidity market for digital assets.”

Today we’re announcing a $29M Series A extension for LI.FI, funded by Multicoin and CoinFund.

This brings our total capital raised to ~$52M.

More aggressive and committed than ever to build the universal liquidity market for digital assets. Time to scale.…

— Philipp Zentner | LI.FI (@PhilippZentner) December 11, 2025

Source: @PhilippZentner on X

The competitive landscape in cross-chain execution includes Socket (which powers Bungee), Squid (built on Axelar), and standalone bridge protocols. LI.FI’s differentiator is aggregation breadth: rather than building a single bridge or messaging layer, it aggregates across all major interop standards through Glacis, giving issuers protocol-agnostic distribution.

For RWA issuers specifically, this aggregation matters because different chains may favor different messaging protocols. A tokenized treasury product deployed on Ethereum via Chainlink’s CCT, Arbitrum via LayerZero’s OFT, and Solana via Wormhole’s NTT can use Glacis as a single integration point rather than managing three separate bridge implementations. Companies like Bitmine Immersion Technologies, which holds billions in crypto assets, represent the class of institutional holders that could benefit from unified cross-chain infrastructure for portfolio management.

Roadmap and Key Risks

LI.FI’s stated roadmap included an open intent and solver marketplace planned for Q1 2026, according to company projections from December 2025. Independent confirmation of the marketplace’s live status has not been published.

Measurable success metrics for the expansion include growth in stablecoin-specific transaction volume routed through Glacis, the number of RWA issuers integrating the platform, and solver marketplace participation rates. LI.FI’s existing scale, at roughly 1,000 integrations and $8 billion in monthly volume, provides a baseline against which stablecoin and RWA traction can be measured.

Key risks remain. LI.FI disclosed and addressed an $11 million exploit in July 2024, a reminder that cross-chain infrastructure carries smart contract risk proportional to the value it routes. Regulatory uncertainty around RWA token classification and stablecoin compliance requirements could also affect adoption timelines.

The broader crypto market sentiment sits at a Fear & Greed Index score of 34, indicating fear. However, LI.FI’s B2B infrastructure model, generating revenue from enterprise integrations with Robinhood, Circle, and Alipay rather than retail trading volume, provides partial insulation from retail sentiment cycles.

FAQ

What is LI.FI and how does it work?

LI.FI is a cross-chain execution infrastructure protocol that aggregates bridges, DEXs, and interoperability standards into a single API and SDK. Developers integrate LI.FI once to access optimal routing across 30+ blockchains.

What stablecoins does LI.FI support for cross-chain payments?

LI.FI supports major stablecoins including USDC and USDT across multiple chains. Through Glacis, it aggregates stablecoin-specific interop standards like Chainlink’s CCTP for USDC and LayerZero’s OFT for USDT0, enabling mint/burn transfers with zero slippage.

What are real-world assets (RWA) in crypto?

RWAs are tokenized representations of traditional financial assets, including government bonds, real estate, commodities, and private credit, deployed on blockchains. RWA tokens require cross-chain infrastructure to move between networks while maintaining compliance properties.

How does LI.FI differ from a bridge or DEX aggregator?

Traditional bridges handle single-hop transfers between two chains. DEX aggregators optimize swap routing on a single chain. LI.FI combines both and adds intent-based execution, solver marketplaces, and interop token standard aggregation through its 2.0 infrastructure, functioning as a full execution layer rather than a single-purpose routing tool.

Is LI.FI expanding to support institutional users?

Yes. LI.FI’s enterprise partners already include Robinhood, Binance, Circle, and Alipay. The Glacis component specifically targets institutional stablecoin issuers and RWA tokenizers who need zero-slippage, protocol-agnostic cross-chain distribution.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.