JP Richardson, co-founder and CEO of Exodus Movement (NYSE American: EXOD), opened part of the Top exit today in Omaha, Nebraska, with an announcement about where the company’s clients are believed to already be located.
Exit Richardson said UFC has become the official payments partner of the UFC, and the partnership will begin on June 1.
This launch coincides with the UFC Graduation Freedom 250 took place on the White House lawn to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, making it the first UFC event to be held on these grounds. The brand will be visible inside the octagon, at broadcast points, and through in-place activations.
“As fans walk through the gates, you will see the effects of the Exodus activation everywhere in the White House,” Richardson said.
Richardson framed the deal in two dimensions: brand exposure and trust. For a financial application, trust is not a marketing metric but a result of a strong product.
Consumers don’t try unrecognized brands when it comes to their money, and Richardson argues that the UFC’s reach of 700 million fans across 165 countries, provides the kind of high-stakes repeat visibility that accelerates the process of building trust on a scale that few media outlets can match.
The deal is multi-year. Richardson described the target demographic as crypto-curious, young and digitally savvy – a demographic that really aligns with what Exodus has spent more than a decade achieving.
Deep dive into Exodus Pay
Later in the day, Ain Sanayen, chief product officer, delivered what amounted to an official retirement notice for the wallet category, at least as Exodus defines it.
Sonayen’s argument was precise: the wallet is the starting point, not the destination. Exodus started as a wallet because it was the primary entry point for people getting into Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in 2014. He clearly said that that era is over.
The company is repositioning itself as a financial platform — what Sonayen called a “money operating system,” or money operating system — built on three core experiences: stablecoins for everyday spending, cryptocurrencies for ownership, and expanded utilities for more sophisticated users.
Checkout payment It is the first layer of that platform. It’s shipping now, and is available in all 50 states, with global expansion planned for later in 2026. Users can fund the app via Apple Pay, bank transfer, or existing cryptocurrency balances.
Spending works wherever a visa is accepted. Peer-to-peer transmissions are free and instant, requiring only a phone number – including recipients who haven’t yet installed Exodus, who receive money when they sign up.
The self-care distinction is more important here than it might seem. Competing payments products hold user balances on their balance sheets. If the company freezes an account, the money stops. Exodus Pay keeps private keys on the user’s device. The company never takes money.
In the post-genius law Regulatory environmentThis architecture carries both compliance and competitive weight. The stablecoin market surpassed $300 billion in circulation earlier this year, and Exodus Pay said it was among the first consumer products to launch within that framework.
Sonnen also explained the revenue logic. Payments companies don’t win by transaction volume alone; They win on credits.
Exodus Pay is designed to hold funds within the ecosystem – users add funds, earn rewards in any asset including Bitcoin, spend with their card, and earn back. The revenue package includes stablecoin balances, card exchanges, foreign currencies, and expansion of facilities over time.
In the company’s press release, CFO James Jernitzky described Exodus Pay as “iterative, scalable and wholly owned by us” after posting record fourth-quarter profits — language that suggests the company views this launch as the beginning of a completely different business model, rather than a premium release.
