Stripe, a major player in the FinTech space, has reportedly completed its largest acquisition to date, acquiring stablecoin-based payment network Bridge for $1.1 billion. Former TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington confirmed the acquisition in a post on social media platform X on October 20th. Neither Stripe nor Bridge have yet publicly commented on the deal.
Stripe is a global financial technology company that provides a comprehensive platform for businesses to accept and manage online payments. Stripe acts as an intermediary between customers and businesses, securely processing transactions and transferring funds directly from customers’ payment methods, such as credit cards, debit cards, and digital wallets, to businesses’ accounts. Stripe’s services are essential for online businesses, making it easy to process payments across multiple channels. In addition to payment processing, Stripe offers a suite of tools such as fraud prevention, invoicing, subscription management, and APIs that allow businesses to build customized payment solutions, making it versatile for businesses of all sizes. It has become a platform.
Bridge was founded by former Coinbase and Square executives Zach Abrams and Sean Yu. Founded in 2022, Bridge challenges traditional payment systems like SWIFT and credit cards by providing business tools to create, manage, and process payments using stablecoins like USDC and USDT. It is designed to.
The platform aims to streamline global financial transactions by integrating stablecoins into business operations, providing faster and more cost-effective payment solutions. Bridge has attracted high-profile customers such as SpaceX and Stellar, and earlier this year secured $58 million in funding from investors including Sequoia, Ribbit, and Index Ventures. Its infrastructure supports cross-border payments and aims to expand the use of stablecoins in both business-to-business (B2B) and consumer markets.
The deal is a major move for Stripe, which was valued at $70 billion as of July and processes about 1% of the world’s gross domestic product. In March, Stripe surpassed $1 trillion in annual payments. The acquisition also comes on the heels of Stripe introducing stablecoin payments using Circle’s USDC on its platform and partnering with Coinbase to integrate its layer-2 network Base into Stripe’s crypto payment solutions.
Featured image via Pixabay
