Stripe acquires the stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion, marking a major step into the stablecoin payment market and strengthening its position in the Web3 financial sector.
On October 21, Stripe, the world's leading payment processing company, officially announced the completion of the acquisition of Bridge, a stablecoin platform, for a value of up to $1.1 billion. This is Stripe's largest acquisition to date and one of the most notable transactions in the cryptocurrency industry.
Stripe, headquartered in San Francisco and Dublin, was valued at $70 billion in July 2023. This platform allows businesses to accept payments via credit cards, debit cards, and other online payment methods. In 2023, the total payment volume processed by Stripe exceeded $1 trillion, equivalent to 1% of global GDP.
Bridge, founded in 2022 by two former Coinbase executives, Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, provides a solution for businesses to create, store, send, and accept stablecoins. This platform is seen as a Web3 solution similar to Stripe, with the ambition to compete with the SWIFT network and traditional credit card systems. Bridge has raised $58 million in investment capital from major funds such as Sequoia, Ribbit, and Index this year.
This transaction affirms Stripe's commitment to developing the world's leading stablecoin infrastructure and promoting stablecoin payments. Previously, in March 2023, John Collison, co-founder of Stripe, announced that the company would roll out global stablecoin payments this summer. Recently, Stripe has integrated Circle USD (USDC) payments into its main system interface, marking the first step in this journey.
