Payment processing giant Stripe is in talks to acquire Bridge, a fintech startup specialising in moving money using stablecoins like Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC, for $1 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with the discussions.
However, the acquisition has not yet been finalised, and neither company has officially confirmed any move in this direction. The report also noted that either party could still back out of the deal.
Payment Giants Are Interested in Stablecoins
Headquartered in Texas, Bridge supports payments from more than 70 countries and allows businesses to accept payments from anywhere using stablecoins. In its last Series A funding round, the company raised $40 million, bringing its total funding to $58 million. Some of its backers include Sequoia, Ribbit Capital, Index, and Haun Ventures.
If the acquisition goes ahead, Stripe will join other fintech giants entering the lucrative stablecoin industry. Robinhood and Revolut are two other companies that plan to launch their own stablecoins. Visa is another financial giant that recently launched a platform enabling banks to issue their own fiat-backed tokens, otherwise known as stablecoins.
Mainstream financial companies’ interest in stablecoins has grown following the European Union’s introduction of strict rules on the circulation of stablecoins within its jurisdiction. The regulations, which came into effect earlier this year, even forced crypto exchanges within the bloc to delist several non-compliant stablecoins from their platforms.
Stripe’s Reentry into Crypto
Meanwhile, the Bridge acquisition would not mark Stripe's debut in cryptocurrencies. The payment platform previously supported cryptocurrencies but stopped doing so in 2018 due to volatility and technical limitations, with co-founder and President John Collison describing the experience as a “pretty terrible payment experience.”
Crypto is back. @Stripe will start supporting global stablecoin payments this summer. Transactions instantly settle on-chain and automatically convert to fiat. Join the waitlist https://t.co/hws2OsU3Id and watch the demo (h/t @Solana) from Sessions. pic.twitter.com/zGKYW2FM6i
— John Collison (@collision) April 25, 2024
However, Stripe’s interest in crypto remained. In 2022, the company launched a new service allowing businesses to offer customers the ability to convert fiat currency into cryptocurrencies. Earlier this year, it also announced that it will allow merchants to accept stablecoin payments.
This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.
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