Payments giant Stripe is in talks to acquire stablecoin platform Bridge in a deal valued at $1.1 billion, a significant move in the crypto industry and the largest acquisition in the sector to date. It will be.
The news was first revealed by TechCrunch co-founder Michael Arrington in an October 20th X post, but as of now, neither Stripe nor Bridge have officially confirmed the acquisition.
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Founded in 2022 by former Coinbase executives Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, Bridge makes it easy to create, transfer, and store stablecoins. The acquisition follows Bridge’s successful $40 million funding round in August, led by Sequoia, Ribbit, and Index.
For Stripe, this acquisition coincides with a renewed focus on expanding its services in the cryptocurrency space. The multinational payment processor first introduced Bitcoin payments in 2014, but discontinued it four years later citing low adoption rates.
However, in 2024, Stripe announced its re-entry into the cryptocurrency space with a focus on stablecoin payments. The company highlighted the growing demand for blockchain-based alternatives due to faster transaction speeds and lower costs compared to traditional payment methods.
Source:X
On October 15th, Stripe partnered with Paxos to begin accepting Circle’s USDC stablecoin, allowing merchants in 70 countries to start accepting stablecoin payments for fiat payments. Stripe has also been working on the cryptocurrency sector through various other initiatives, including enabling payments to creators on X via USDC and launching a fiat-to-crypto transition service in 2022. I did.
Bridge’s acquisition coincides with a surge in stablecoin usage, with stablecoin market capitalization reaching an all-time high of nearly $170 billion in the third quarter of 2024. Experts predict this market could reach $3 trillion by 2030.
Growth of the stablecoin market
Several traditional financial platforms have recently entered the stablecoin market. Visa launched a platform in early October that allows banks to issue fiat-backed stablecoins, citing observations that stablecoin trading volumes are approaching levels seen on traditional payment networks. . PayPal also entered the stablecoin market last year with the launch of PayPal USD (PYUSD) on Ethereum, with the aim of enabling low-cost money transfers without intermediaries.
The acquisition of Bridge will allow Stripe to more effectively compete with other fintech companies moving into the stablecoin market, highlighting the growing convergence of traditional financial systems and blockchain technology. . Analysts see the acquisition as a strong sign of increasing adoption of stablecoins as a mainstream payment method.
Stripe is valued at approximately $70 billion and is aggressively expanding its presence in digital payments. Earlier this year, it achieved a significant milestone by surpassing $1 trillion in total payments. By integrating Bridge’s stablecoin technology expertise, Stripe aims to further strengthen its digital payments infrastructure, take advantage of the evolving financial landscape, and solidify its position as a leader in the fintech industry.
This week, Tether’s US dollar-backed stablecoin, USDT, hit a record market cap of $120 billion, a potential catalyst for a bull market.
Tether, the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, crossed the $120 billion mark on October 20th. Stablecoins like Tether play an important role in bridging fiat currencies and digital assets. An increase in the supply of stablecoins often signals an upcoming bull market and suggests that investors are ready to purchase digital assets.
