What is a stablecoin off-ramp?

Definition

A stablecoin off-ramp is a service that converts stablecoins into fiat currency and pays the money out to a bank account, usually in a different country from where the stablecoins were acquired.

The off-ramp is the last leg of a stablecoin payment: USDC or USDT goes to the provider, local currency arrives in the recipient's account. It is also the leg where quality varies most, because it depends on local banking access, local licensing, and liquidity in the destination currency. An off-ramp that is fast into euros may be slow or unavailable into naira.

For payment companies, off-ramp coverage decides which corridors are viable at all, and off-ramp speed decides how much prefunding the corridor still needs. When the off-ramp pays out within the settlement window, payouts can be funded per trade instead of from parked balances. That is the model Codex FX runs, with payout in USD, EUR, GBP, MXN, and BRL and more currencies in progress.

Related terms

Stablecoin on-rampA stablecoin on-ramp is a service that converts fiat currency into stablecoins: money leaves a bank account and the equivalent value arrives onchain, minus the conversion cost.Corridor liquidityCorridor liquidity is the capacity to convert and settle money in one specific currency corridor, at the size you need, when you need it, without moving the price against yourself.PrefundingPrefunding is capital parked in a destination market before payouts happen there, so local payments can go out without waiting for cross-border settlement to catch up.

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