Global online payment giant Stripe returns to cryptocurrency payments! Back in 2014, Stripe became one of the first businesses to accept Bitcoin payments. However, in 2018, the plan failed due to rising block costs, excessive volatility, and instability. Now, after 6 years, Stripe announced that it will allow customers to accept cryptocurrency payments, starting with only supporting one currency, the USDC stablecoin.
Stable currency payment expands global influence
In March 2022, Stripe made its first attempt to return to the cryptocurrency market, expanding the functionality of its payment platform to support NFT purchases and other Web3-related services. In this upgrade, Stripe has added a number of security policies, including KYC procedures, to enhance the prevention of fraud. Last year, there was also news in the market that Stripe was working with Twitter (now X) to develop payment functions.
Today (26th), Stripe announced that it will soon allow merchants to accept U.S. dollar coins (USDC) as a means of payment, further expanding the functionality of its payment platform. USDC is currently the second largest stablecoin in the cryptocurrency space and the sixth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. John Egan, head of cryptocurrency at Stripe, said:
Being able to enable Stripe users to accept stablecoin payments is a big step for us and will help them expand their global reach. The move will allow customers without bank accounts or credit cards to make fast, easy and reliable transactions.
Choose Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon as partners
Although Stripe processed a transaction volume of up to 1 trillion US dollars last year and the company value reached 65 billion US dollars, in fact, its path of exploration in the cryptocurrency field has been full of twists and turns. If it gets deeply involved when the market is unstable, it may pose risks to its main business and even affect its image as a stable financial giant.
According to a Stripe spokesperson, Stripe will initially support USDC transactions on the Ethereum, Solana and Polygon networks. The spokesperson added:
A more detailed list will eventually be announced to support USDC transactions on more blockchain networks, and the detailed list will be announced before the official release of the product.
