New payment option expands investor flexibility and supports secure, real-time transactions
BURBANK, CA, JUNE 24, 2025 — StartEngine, a renowned alternative investment platform, will soon accept stablecoin payments for investments across its platform. This update will enable all retail investors to participate in offerings using instant, blockchain-based transactions.
“We launched StartEngine to make investing more accessible and intuitive,“ said Howard Marks, Co-Founder and CEO of StartEngine. “By accepting stablecoins, we’re meeting the growing demand for flexible funding options while staying at the forefront of fintech infrastructure.”
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to the U.S. dollar that can offer a reliable and efficient method for digital payments. The SEC’s recent clarification that stablecoins are not securities has opened the door for broader adoption in private market investing.¹
StartEngine’s integration will allow for zero-friction transfers, helping reduce failed transactions and ensuring faster access to high-growth opportunities on the platform. Plans for this new feature arrive as crypto regulation gains momentum in Congress and payment rails continue to modernize.²
“I’ve been saying it for years: digital payments are the future,” said Kevin O’Leary (aka “Mr. Wonderful”), Strategic Advisor to StartEngine.³ “This is a smart step forward for a platform that continues to level the playing field for retail investors.”
Since 2014, StartEngine has helped over 2.1 million users invest more than $1.4 billion across a wide array of private investment opportunities,⁴ ranging from emerging startups to offerings for exposure to pre-IPO companies like OpenAI, Perplexity, and Databricks.⁵ In Q1 2025, the company tripled revenue year-over-year to a record $30 million (based on unaudited Q1 2025 financials).⁶
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About StartEngine
StartEngine is one of the largest alternative investing platforms in the U.S. led by Activision Co-Founder Howard Marks and advised by Kevin O’Leary,³ StartEngine launched in 2014 with the mission to help entrepreneurs achieve their dreams, while providing everyday investors with access to private investment opportunities. To date, over $1.4 billion has been invested on StartEngine’s platform from a community of more than 2.1 million users.⁴ In November 2023, the company launched StartEngine Private, an offering for accredited investors to gain exposure to prominent pre-IPO companies like Perplexity, Discord, and Epic Games.⁵
StartEngine Crowdfunding Inc. is not a broker-dealer, funding portal or investment adviser. StartEngine Capital, LLC is a funding portal registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). StartEngine Primary LLC is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and FINRA/SIPC. StartEngine Secondary is an alternative trading system regulated by the SEC and operated by StartEngine Primary. To raise funds, invest or trade on the StartEngine platform, visit www.startengine.com.
Media Contact
Scott Murphy
Director of Content
StartEngine
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- Source: Division of Corporation Finance, “Statement on Stablecoins,” U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, April 4, 2025
- Source: John Towfighi, “What Are Stablecoins? Everything to Know About the Crypto Being Debated in Congress,” CNN, June 5, 2025
- Kevin O’Leary is a paid spokesperson for StartEngine. See his 17(b) disclosure, here.
- Count determined as number of unique email addresses in StartEngine’s database as of 04-03-2025. One individual may have more than one email address. In May 2023, StartEngine acquired assets of SeedInvest, including email lists for SeedInvest’s users, investors and founders. Click here for more details.
- The underlying companies held by StartEngine Private Funds LLC, and StartEngine Private LLC (together, “StartEngine Private”) are not participating or involved in the offering. The availability of company information does not indicate that the company has endorsed, supports or otherwise participates with StartEngine Private or any of its affiliates. StartEngine Crowdfunding LLC purchases shares from current and former employees, early investors, and advisors of the companies and sells the shares to StartEngine Private for each offering. When you make an investment in a company on StartEngine Private, you are purchasing an interest in a series of StartEngine Private Funds LLC or StartEngine Private LLC, each a Delaware limited liability company (together the “Series LLCs”), which were created to hold shares of privately held companies. An investor will not directly own or hold shares of the private company but instead will own member interests in a series of the Series LLCs, which either directly or indirectly, will hold shares in the company. There may not be a one-to-one economic parity on the value of the Series LLCs interests and the underlying shares. This is offered only to accredited investors per regulation D rules.
- Based on our Q1 2025 Form 10-Q/A. This revenue growth has been driven by StartEngine Private, a new product line that offers funds in late stage companies. This product line has driven over $24.6 million of the $30 million in revenue from Q1 2025. To understand the impact on margins, see financials.