Financial Infrastructure Company Zebec Network acquired Gatenox, a platform of compliance and identity, bringing a core regulated infrastructure within the company, expanding into a more heavily regulated market.
In an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the company said the deal will allow natives to know your customers (KYC), Business (KYB), and Money Laundering Anti-Money Laundering (AML) tools to participate directly in the Web3 payment stack.
Neal Padhye, head of Zebec’s mergers and acquisitions, said regulations are no longer an option and are now infrastructure. “With Gatenox, we incorporate compliance into the fundamentals of programmable finance, making Zebec faster, safer and ready for institutional scale,” Padhye added.
The terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed, but a Zebec spokesperson told Cointelegraph it was a full-speed transaction.
Zebec pursues MICA and FCA compliance
Zebec will utilize Gatenox’s technology in the second half of 2025 to pursue regulatory registration based on the European Union Markets (MICA) and the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
A spokesman told the Cointelegraph that Gatenox is currently not registered with the financial authorities.
However, they said the team has extensive experience with regulated financial institutions such as Union Bank in Switzerland, the American International Group and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
“The two founders of Gatenox previously founded Blik, Eastern Europe’s largest mobile payments platform, and founded Coinfirm,” a spokesman told Cointelegraph, adding that these founders will join Zebec and advise on the compliance program.
The Gatenox deal follows Zebec’s previous acquisition of Science Card. It is a platform that allows students and researchers to provide financial tools. The company streamlines campus spending, research grants and budgeting.
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Gatenox acquisition to phase out third-party trust
Zebec added that the move will allow it to phase out its dependency on third-party compliance providers and replace it with Gatenox’s proprietary technology.
“Gatenox’s product products are direct competitors of SumSub, and Zebec will move away from SumSub after this acquisition,” the spokesman said.
Zebec Network has attracted a large amount of investment since its founding in 2021. The company said it has secured $35 million from investors including Circle, Coinbase, Solana Ventures, Breyer Capital, Republic and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Its native tokens are also actively traded on exchanges such as Kucoin, Bybit, OKX, and Crypto.com.
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