Stripe has been refocusing on crypto in latest months, with co-founder John Collison saying ‘crypto is again’.
Fintech large Stripe has acquired stablecoin platform Bridge in a $1.1bn deal, based on TechCrunch founder Micheal Arrington.
The deal marks the most important acquisition for Stripe and one of many largest within the cryptocurrency business so far, reiterating Stripe’s curiosity in providing cryptocurrency companies.
In an X post on yesterday (20 October), Arrington shared a TechCrunch article on the acquisition and mentioned: “This deal is completed. $1.1bn.”
The information comes days after reports revealed that the 2 corporations have been in talks concerning the deal.
Bridge, co-founded by former Coinbase executives Zach Abrams and Sean Yu in 2022, supplies an API that assists corporations settle for stablecoins – a sort of cryptocurrency designed to take care of a secure worth, usually by being tied to a secure asset like a fiat (government-issued) foreign money resembling US {dollars} or the euro.
The corporate, valued at $200m, had raised $58m this yr from VC Sequoia, Ribbit Capital, Index Ventures, amongst different traders and Stripe’s acquisition would considerably enhance the corporate’s present valuation.
Earlier this yr, Stripe brought back crypto payments as part of its services, after a six-year hiatus in 2018. In an announcement made in Stripe’s annual consumer convention Periods this yr, co-founder John Collison revealed that the fintech will begin supporting international crypto funds, beginning with USDC stablecoins on the Ethereum, Solana and Polygon blockchains.
“Crypto is again,” he wrote on X. “Stripe will begin supporting international stablecoin funds this summer season. Transactions immediately settle on-chain and routinely convert to fiat.”
Shortly after, the fintech large partnered up with the Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Coinbase. By way of the partnership, Stripe will incorporate Coinbase’s Layer 2 community Base into its crypto pay-out merchandise and Coinbase will add Stripe as a fee methodology for prospects buying crypto.
In July 2024, Stripe additionally enabled crypto purchases within the EU, permitting consumers to buy cryptocurrencies utilizing a credit score or debit card.
“This enlargement permits crypto corporations to assist European customers purchase cryptocurrencies rapidly and simply,” Stripe’s head of crypto John Egan advised the Irish Independent.
The fintech firm’s valuation surged to $70bn this yr after VC Sequoia provided to purchase as much as $861m in Stripe shares at $21.51 every.
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