Arthur Firstov is the Chief Business Officer at Mercuryo, a global leader in crypto payments infrastructure. With over seven years of experience in sales, client relations, and strategic B2B partnerships across fintech and financial services, Arthur has played a key role in Mercuryo’s growth — helping the company surpass $50 million in annual revenue and secure partnerships with more than 300 companies, including Binance, MetaMask, and Ledger. He entered the crypto space in 2017 and has since become a recognised voice on crypto payments, digital banking, and the intersection of web3 and traditional finance. Holding MBAs in both Banking and Blockchain Management, Arthur brings a unique blend of traditional finance expertise and forward-looking insight into DeFi, stablecoins, and non-custodial payment solutions.
Let’s start with your background — how did you get into crypto?
I got into the industry in 2019 while working in private banking. I saw firsthand how difficult it was for crypto companies to access basic financial services like payments, banking, and compliance.
Around that time, I met Mercuryo’s founders. They were building infrastructure to solve those exact problems, and I knew I wanted to be part of it. I had some personal exposure to crypto before that, but this was my first real deep dive into the space.
Payments were central to Bitcoin’s white paper, but adoption has been slow. What’s held it back?
A lot of it comes down to infrastructure. For crypto payments to take off, platforms first needed reliable fiat onramps and offramps. That was Mercuryo’s original focus.
Beyond that, regulation, education, and user experience have all been hurdles. But we’ve made real progress.
Mercuryo works with major DeFi names like 1inch, Jupiter, and Metamask. How did those relationships come about?
We were the first to integrate fiat onramps with 1inch and Jupiter, back during DeFi summer. The timing was right, and we built infrastructure designed specifically for decentralised platforms.
More recently, we launched Spend, a Mastercard crypto debit card, which lets users pay directly from their non-custodial wallets.
Are those cards white-labeled? And how do you monetise that?
Yes, we act as the programme manager. Our platform allows mid-sized or smaller crypto companies to offer branded cards without having to build the infrastructure themselves.
It levels the playing field. These companies can offer the same services as larger players.
Some crypto cards offer suspiciously high cashback rewards. How is that sustainable?
It’s a good question. A lot of these models rely on giving rewards in their native tokens. That’s something we’ve seen across crypto, from DeFi incentives to airdrops.
Some cashback offers are tied to staking or holding tokens, which can push the rates higher. It can be effective, but whether it’s sustainable depends a lot on the underlying project and how it balances user growth with long-term utility.
Have you explored launching credit cards, not just debit?
In Europe, debit cards are the dominant product, while in the US, there’s more of a preference for credit. We understand that different regions have different expectations, and we’re exploring ways to align our offering with those needs over time.
We’re looking at adding new features and benefits available to Spend cardholders such as airport lounge access or subscriptions to services like Netflix and Spotify.
Are you seeing more momentum in the PayFi space?
Yes, especially around remittances. But we’re focused on consumer crypto use cases and products that bring new people into the space.
The user experience has improved dramatically, and mobile apps have made onboarding much easier. Our job is to help platforms get to market fast by providing the payment rails they need.
Can you tell me more about Mercuryo Pro?
We built Mercuryo Pro with Ledger to serve high-net-worth individuals who want self-custody but need fast, high-volume on/off-ramps.
It’s a white-glove solution. It’s secure, streamlined, and hands-off. We don’t touch their funds or hold their keys.
How open are crypto projects to working with you?
Larger players are usually straightforward to work with, but we also support early-stage teams. We sponsor hackathons and help new projects integrate our products — sometimes within 48 hours.
If a startup shows potential, we connect them to our VC network.
Are you investing in these projects too?
Yes, selectively. We’re not a fund, but we’ve been a startup ourselves and understand the challenges.
When we see something promising, we offer more than just money by connecting teams to accelerators, incubators, and other partners, and providing full product and technical support from the Mercuryo team.
Which ecosystems have been most receptive to Mercuryo?
We started in Ethereum and the broader EVM space, particularly around DeFi wallets and decentralised exchanges.
But consumer crypto is growing fast elsewhere, too. Solana, for example, has seen real traction with retail users. Stablecoins are another huge focus area for us.
Are you leaning more into interoperability now, rather than focusing on individual chains?
Exactly. Interoperability and chain abstraction are becoming essential as crypto starts to look more like traditional fintech.
Our infrastructure is being built to be chain-agnostic from the start.
What are you personally most bullish on right now?
Stablecoins, embedded yields, and consumer crypto apps. I want to see more real-world use cases, like paying tuition, booking travel, things like that.
Speculation won’t disappear, but the next phase of crypto growth will come from solving everyday problems.