Stripe acquires stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion Stripe acquires stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion
Striped paid more than 5x more than the stablecoin platform's $200 million valuation.
2 min read
Updated: Oct. 22, 2024 at 7:58 am UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Payments giant Stripe has acquired stablecoin platform Bridge for a total amount of $1.1 billion, more than 5x its $200 million valuation, according to an Oct. 21 annnouncement.
The acquisition is part of Stripe’s plan to enter the stablecoin market. The announcement said the firms will focus on growing the adoption of stablecoins to make money easier to move, store, and spend globally.
Rumors of the deal first appeared on Oct. 17. Michael Arrington, founder of TechCrunch and venture capital fund Arrington Capital, later corroborated the reports and revealed that the deal was closed on October 20.
On Aug. 29, Bridge received $58 million in a private fundraising round with the participation of Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Index Ventures, and Haun Ventures, according to data from DefiLlama.
Bridge offers infrastructure to issue and move tokenized money on different blockchains. The platform has also supported government initiatives and counts SpaceX, Coinbase, and Stellar among its clients.
The stablecoin platform noted in its announcement that Stripe shares its view that stablecoins can have a profound impact globally and added:
“Stablecoins solve critical financial problems by making money easier to move, more economical to hold, and cheaper to send. This isn’t about ‘crypto’—it’s about solving real-world problems in a globalized economy.”
Meanwhile, Stripe processed over $1 trillion in total payment volume in 2023, growing by 25% in one year. Additionally, Stripe is the second largest payment processing technology, with a 17% market share, according to Statista’s data.
Nic Carter, partner at Castle Island Ventures and co-founder of Coinmetrics, commented that the Bridge acquisition by Stripe will “turbocharge” the stablecoin space. He added that generalist venture capital funds that quit crypto will pivot back to the market.
Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, agreed with Carter’s remarks:
“Let’s do this!”
Stablecoins gaining the mainstream
The acquisition comes at a pivotal time for stablecoins, which have gained steam in recent months.
According to a16z’s report “State of Crypto 2024,” stablecoins amounted to $8.5 trillion in transaction volume in the second quarter, and they represent 32% of all crypto usage activity.
Moreover, the report highlighted that this is more than double Visa’s $3.9 trillion registered in the same period.
Despite being popular in crypto, stablecoins started penetrating mainstream finance. Revolut is rumored to launch its stablecoin and Visa announced a platform to help banks issue their fiat-backed tokens.
Furthermore, Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank revealed it embraced the usage of stablecoins to process cross-border payments.
Mentioned in this article
Circle 
Arrington XRP Capital 
Sequoia Capital 
Haun Ventures 
Coinbase 
Stellar Development Foundation 
a16z 
Visa 
Revolut 
Jeremy Allaire 
Michael Arrington 
Nic Carter Author 
Gino Matos
Gino Matos is a law school graduate and a seasoned journalist with six years of experience in the crypto industry. His expertise primarily focuses on the Brazilian blockchain ecosystem and developments in decentralized finance (DeFi).
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In this article
Circle
Circle Internet Financial Ltd is a global internet finance company, built on blockchain technology and powered by crypto assets.
Arrington XRP Capital
Arrington XRP Capital is a digital asset management firm in blockchain-based capital markets..
Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California that specializes in seed, early, and growth stage investments in private firms in the technology sector.
Haun Ventures
Haun Ventures, is a firm designed from the ground up to help founders build the next generation of the internet.
Coinbase
Coinbase is a digital currency exchange and wallet service that allows individuals to buy, sell, and store digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
Stellar Development Foundation
The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is a non-profit organization founded in 2014 to support the development and growth of the open-source Stellar network.
a16z
Andreessen Horowitz (known as “a16z”) is a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley specializing in investing in seed, start-ups, early, mid-stage, growth, and late stage.
Visa
Visa is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Foster City, California, United States.
Revolut
Revolut is a financial technology company that offers a range of financial services, including a digital banking platform, foreign currency exchange, stock trading, cryptocurrency trading, and other related services.
Jeremy Allaire stands as the founder, chairman, and CEO of Circle, a trailblazing consumer Internet company.
Michael most recently Co-Founded CrunchFund after leading TechCrunch to a successful exit with AOL.
Nic Carter is a partner at Castle Island Ventures and the co-founder of blockchain data aggregator Coinmetrics.io.