The well-known online payment service giant Stripe recently announced that it has launched stablecoin-based accounts for customers in over 100 countries. This new initiative combines stablecoin technology with Stripe's global payment platform, aiming to provide more efficient and low-cost financial services for businesses and users, especially in regions with unstable financial infrastructure.
Stripe Stablecoin Account Details
- Features: According to Stripe's announcement, this new feature will allow customers to "send, receive, and hold USD stablecoin account balances," operating similarly to traditional fiat currency bank accounts. Users can make cross-border payments, store value, or exchange stablecoins for fiat currency (such as US dollars). This service is particularly suitable for scenarios requiring fast, low-cost transactions, such as cross-border remittances, B2B payments, or creator platforms.
- Supported Stablecoins: The feature supports USDC issued by Circle and USDB issued by Bridge. Notably, USDB was launched by the Bridge platform, which Stripe acquired in October 2024, supporting blockchains including Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon.
- Applicable Countries and Regions: The product is available in over 100 countries, including Argentina, Chile, Turkey, Colombia, Peru, Vietnam, and others. However, Taiwan is currently not included.
Regarding this initiative, William Gaybrick, Stripe's President of Product and Business, commented at a recent Stripe Sessions conference: "Many regions in the world face unstable currencies and unreliable infrastructure, which limits GDP in the internet age. Now, users from Argentina, Vietnam, and other places can hold stablecoins and send and receive funds through both crypto and fiat channels."
Additionally, Stripe co-founder and President John Collison added:
"We should be very dissatisfied with the current state of financial services. In the financial services field, invoice fraud is a major problem for businesses, along with phishing attacks and more. Although this is a new product, it provides us with an opportunity to bring a higher degree of security in the long term."
Stablecoin Adoption Continues to Expand
Stablecoins, as a special type of (value-stable) cryptocurrency, have long extended their adoption from Web3 to the real world, with more and more enterprises and institutions beginning to accept stablecoins as a payment method. The core reason is that stablecoins not only solve the high costs and low efficiency of traditional financial systems in cross-border payments but also provide financial inclusivity for the unbanked. Here are several specific examples of stablecoin adoption in the real world:
- Visa: In 2021, Visa announced support for USDC as a settlement currency in its payment network, allowing merchants and businesses to directly accept USDC payments and convert them to fiat currency.
- PayPal: In 2023, PayPal launched its own stablecoin PYUSD and integrated it into its payment platform, allowing users to use PYUSD for online shopping, transfers, and cross-border payments.
- Mercado Libre: Latin America's largest e-commerce platform allows users to pay using stablecoins like USDT and USDC in markets such as Brazil and Mexico.
- UNICEF: The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has been accepting cryptocurrency donations since 2019 for global humanitarian aid projects.
Further Reading: The Stablecoin Revolution is Underway: Resonance of Technical Architecture and Business Ecosystem
