Stripe made a groundbreaking move as the online payment processing platform tries to position itself as a key player in the cryptocurrency space.
The fintech company has reportedly bought the stablecoin platform Bridge in a landmark acquisition deal, a transaction that sent ripples across the cryptocurrency arena.
Stripe-Bridge Acquisition Deal
TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington said that the payment processing firm Stripe purchased fintech startup Bridge with a price tag of $1.1 billion. As of press time, the two companies involved are still mum on the deal and have not yet released any official statement.
According to sources, the $1.1 billion acquisition cost to buy Bridge is so far the largest purchase in the cryptocurrency space to date. The deal surpassed recent notable acquisitions such as CoinShares purchasing Valkyrie Funds for $530 million and the $200-million contract to buy Bitstamp by Robinhood.
This deal is done. $1.1b https://t.co/J7ppK4uHw0
— Michael Arrington
(@arrington) October 20, 2024
The deal is considered part of Stripe’s proactive response to global trends, a move to better position itself to meet the increasing demand for cryptocurrency services.
Integrating Bridge into Stripe can potentially streamline cryptocurrency transactions of its users, although no details of the deal have been made public yet.
Stripe Interest On Stablecoins
The acquisition reflects Stripe’s direction of embracing stablecoin payments. Six months ago, Stripe co-founder John Collison committed that the firm would throw its support to stablecoin transactions.
Recently, Stripe integrated Circle USD, a known stablecoin, in its payment interface.
In April this year, Stripe announced that it will enter the cryptocurrency space once again after a six-year absence. Adopting cryptocurrencies in mainstream payment has become the trend in businesses across the world.
What Bridge Brings To The Table
Businesses use Bridge for cross-border payments, wherein they utilize stablecoins in their transactions.
To date, Bridge has processed more than $5 billion in annualized payment volume. Some of its notable clients include SpaceX, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Treasury, and Coinbase.
Preference for stablecoins has been increasing in the financial world such as USDC, Dai, and Tether. The collective market cap for stablecoin is estimated at over $170 billion.
New Era Of Payment
With the help of Bridge, Stripe can make crypto-enabled payments for its clients in the US.
Stripe has not yet revealed its plan after the Bridge acquisition, whether it will integrate it into the existing platform or it will remain as a separate one.
The Stripe-Bridge deal highlights the evolving payment processing and the increasing demand for businesses to adopt solutions, bridging the gap between cryptocurrencies and traditional finance.
Featured image from Bornstein Law, chart from TradingView
