Stripe to strengthen crypto ties with Bridge acquisition
The post Stripe to strengthen crypto ties with Bridge acquisition appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
Payments giant Stripe is deep in negotiations to acquire Bridge, a fintech startup specializing in stablecoins. The platform allows businesses to create, store, send, and accept stablecoins. But according to unnamed sources familiar with the deal, no final decision has been reached, and the acquisition could still fall through. A crypto push for Stripe Bridge has raised $58 million in funding so far, with its latest Series A round led by Sequoia Capital. Other investors include Ribbit Capital, Haun Ventures, and Index Ventures. This acquisition would be major for Stripe, which recently resumed accepting crypto payments after a six-year hiatus. Stripe has long been considered a top candidate for an initial public offering (IPO). But the company has shown no rush to go public. Earlier this year, Stripe and its investors agreed to repurchase over $1 billion in shares from employees, valuing the company at $65 billion. At its peak in 2021, Stripe reached nearly $100 billion. Last week, the company announced that it would allow U.S. merchants to accept payments in USDC. This follows other industry players, like Visa, launching platforms to let banks issue their own stablecoins. Robinhood and Revolut are also considering launching stablecoins. Stablecoin competition heats up For years, fintech upstarts have tried to challenge Tether’s dominance with little success. Tether’s USDT holds a staggering market share, accounting for over two-thirds of the $170 billion stablecoin market. USDC, the second-largest, sits far behind with a circulation of $36 billion, and the rest of the stablecoins are so much smaller by comparison. Now, new European Union regulations known as Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) are set to shake up the market even further. These rules, which will take full effect by the end of the year, will force exchanges operating in the EU to delist stablecoins from issuers…
Filed under: News - @ October 17, 2024 12:24 pm