PaymentsgiantStripehasacquiredstablecoinplatformBridgeforatotalamountof$1.1billion,morethan5xits$200millionvaluation,accordingtoanOct.21annnouncement.
TheacquisitionispartofStripe’splantoenterthestablecoinmarket.Theannouncementsaidthefirmswillfocusongrowingtheadoptionofstablecoinstomakemoneyeasiertomove,store,andspendglobally.
ForbesfirstreportedrumorsofthedealonOct.17.MichaelArrington,founderofTechCrunchandventurecapitalfundArringtonCapital,latercorroboratedthereportsandrevealedthatthedealwasclosedonOctober20.
OnAug.29,Bridgereceived$58millioninaprivatefundraisingroundwiththeparticipationofSequoiaCapital,RibbitCapital,IndexVentures,andHaunVentures,accordingtodatafromDefiLlama.
Bridgeoffersinfrastructuretoissueandmovetokenizedmoneyondifferentblockchains.TheplatformhasalsosupportedgovernmentinitiativesandcountsSpaceX,Coinbase,andStellaramongitsclients.
ThestablecoinplatformnotedinitsannouncementthatStripesharesitsviewthatstablecoinscanhaveaprofoundimpactgloballyandadded:
“Stablecoinssolvecriticalfinancialproblemsbymakingmoneyeasiertomove,moreeconomicaltohold,andcheapertosend.Thisisn’tabout‘crypto’—it’saboutsolvingreal-worldproblemsinaglobalizedeconomy.”
Meanwhile,Stripeprocessedover$1trillionintotalpaymentvolumein2023,growingby25%inoneyear.Additionally,Stripeisthesecondlargestpaymentprocessingtechnology,witha17%marketshare,accordingtoStatista’sdata.
NicCarter,partneratCastleIslandVenturesandco-founderofCoinmetrics,commentedthattheBridgeacquisitionbyStripewill“turbocharge”thestablecoinspace.Headdedthatgeneralistventurecapitalfundsthatquitcryptowillpivotbacktothemarket.
JeremyAllaire,CEOofCircle,agreedwithCarter’sremarks:
“Let’sdothis!”
Stablecoinsgainingthemainstream
Theacquisitioncomesatapivotaltimeforstablecoins,whichhavegainedsteaminrecentmonths.
Accordingtoa16z’sreport“StateofCrypto2024,”stablecoinsamountedto$8.5trillionintransactionvolumeinthesecondquarter,andtheyrepresent32%ofallcryptousageactivity.
Moreover,thereporthighlightedthatthisismorethandoubleVisa’s$3.9trillionregisteredinthesameperiod.
Despitebeingpopularincrypto,stablecoinsstartedpenetratingmainstreamfinance.RevolutisrumoredtolaunchitsstablecoinandVisaannouncedaplatformtohelpbanksissuetheirfiat-backedtokens.
Furthermore,Thailand’sSiamCommercialBankrevealeditembracedtheusageofstablecoinstoprocesscross-borderpayments.
cryptoslate.com