tl;dr
Stripe is considering a partnership with Bridge, a stablecoin payment platform, to expand in the stablecoin payment market. Discussions are ongoing, and no formal agreements have been reached. Bridge's platform allows businesses to develop, store, send, and receive stablecoins, and it recently raise...
Stripe is considering a partnership with Bridge, a stablecoin payment platform, to expand in the stablecoin payment market. Discussions are ongoing, and no formal agreements have been reached. Bridge's platform allows businesses to develop, store, send, and receive stablecoins, and it recently raised $58 million in funding. If the acquisition proceeds, it would strengthen Stripe's presence in the stablecoin payments sector, aligning with its recent integration of Paxos and the reintroduction of USDC payments.
Sources told Bloomberg that Stripe is in deep talks with Bridge, a venture-backed fintech platform that helps businesses issue and accept stablecoins. Bridge’s stablecoin-focused platform enables businesses to develop, store, send, and receive stablecoins, including Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC. In August, the firm raised $58 million in funding from major investors, including but not limited to Sequoia and Index Ventures. The fundraiser’s success reflected a shared belief in the potential of stablecoins in global finance.
In Stripe’s case, this potential acquisition signals strong support for stablecoins in global payment systems. To provide context, Stripe recently integrated Paxos, another stablecoin payments platform designed for payment service providers (PSPs), earlier this week. Additionally, Stripe’s product lead, Jeff Weinstein, recently announced the reintroduction of USDC payments after a six-year hiatus. The return of the “Pay with Crypto” feature, now limited to US businesses, supports stablecoin payments across Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon networks.
In hindsight, Stripe co-founder and President John Collison said during the company’s Global Internet Economy conference in April that “Crypto makes sense as a means of exchange.” During the speech, he articulated that improved transaction speeds and reduced fees were critical drivers behind Stripe’s interest in stablecoins.
If Stripe proceeds with the acquisition of Bridge, it would further strengthen its recent push into the stablecoin payments sector. Stripe’s existing crypto payment partners include Bitstamp and Coinbase, with the latter facilitating USDC adoption. At the same time, major players like PayPal, Ripple, Visa, and Revolut have also ventured into the stablecoin market. In contrast, companies like Robinhood remain cautious, reflecting a more skeptical stance on stablecoin adoption.