Surf’s up for the Tether-backed crypto payments app Oobit. It’s making a splash at the annual Gigantes de Nazaré Big Wave surfing event in Portugal this week, throwing its support behind a trio of elite Brazilian surfers as they head out on dawn patrol in search of the Atlantic coast’s fiercest swells.
The initiative is part of Oobit’s new, “Built for the Next Wave” marketing campaign, which aims to showcase how the company’s crypto payments technology is ready to support a new generation of global athletes who travel, live and compete at top events across the world. As part of the campaign, surfers Ian Cosenza, a six-time Gigantes de Nazaré champion who was featured in HBO’s 100 Foot Wave docuseries, Michelle Des Bouillons, Brazil’s 2024 Surf Champion, and Paulo Diego “Imbica”, a world-renowned rescue pilot, are using Oobit’s DePay as their primary payments app for the duration of their travels.
DePay is a decentralized payments layer that enables anyone with a crypto wallet to pay using stablecoins at any merchant or store that accepts Visa payments. The app is fully non-custodial, as there’s no need to deposit any funds in it. Instead, it just provides the infrastructure, so people can send money to vendors directly from their own wallets.
Nazaré has become a legendary destination for surfers, known for its massive swells which are funneled by the underwater Nazaré Canyon into some of the world’s most spectacular, towering waves. It holds the record for the tallest wave ever ridden by a surfer, Sebastian Steudtner of Germany, which measured an incredible 26.2 m (86 ft) when it broke in 2020.
We’re currently in the middle of Nazaré’s peak “big-wave season”, which runs from October to March, and hundreds of the world’s most talented surfers are converging on the resort in anticipation of the 2026 Gigantes de Nazare tournament.
Besides hitting the surf, Cosenza, Des Bouillons and Imbica plan to ride the waves of the Web3 revolution in a real-world demonstration of how Oobit’s technology helps to make traveler’s lives easier through seamless and frictionless payments. For far too long, accessing funds while traveling abroad has always been a major, expensive headache, with people forced to either carry large amounts of cash or rely on expensive ATM withdrawals.
Oobit Chief Executive Amram Adar said surfers epitomize the rise of the borderless lifestyle, as they’re traveling the world constantly in search of the next breaks and biggest waves, which means they have to adapt quickly and perform under extreme conditions. “It mirrors how the world is moving,” he said. “Oobit is built to support people who live globally, and Nazaré is the perfect place to show that in action.”
Oobit says Web3 payments are an ideal solution for travelers from all walks of life, not just surfers. With Visa projecting total cross-border transactions to top $250 trillion annually by 2027, there’s more money flowing around the world than ever before, underscoring the urgent need for solutions that can streamline those payments.
Cosenza welcomes anything that can alleviate those hassles, which he says are shared by the entire global surfing community. “Big wave surfing takes you all over the world, often on short notice,” he explained. “You need things to work simply and reliably, whether you’re traveling, training or preparing for a swell. Having tools that support that global lifestyle makes a real difference.”