After a 6-year break, fintech giant Stripe is reentering the cryptocurrency market by allowing customers to accept crypto payments, starting with the USDC stablecoin. Initially, the payments will be available on Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon. This marks the first time since 2018 that Stripe has supported crypto payments, following its decision to drop Bitcoin due to its instability.
In 2022, Stripe reintroduced crypto with USDC payouts, primarily targeting Twitter. However, the recent announcement does not mention any specific customers. Stripe's co-founder and president, John Collison, will unveil the news at the Connect developer conference in San Francisco.
Stripe's reentry into crypto aligns with its broader strategy of opening up its payment ecosystem to other financial services providers. The company aims to integrate competing payment providers with its existing tools, reflecting its commitment to embedded finance.
Stripe's history with crypto has been tumultuous, balancing its desire to be part of the blockchain revolution while maintaining stability and reliability for its core business. Despite the risks, Stripe processed $1 trillion in transactions last year and continues to grow, with a valuation of $65 billion.
In 2014, Stripe dabbled in Bitcoin testing but withdrew support in 2018 due to volatility. It briefly joined Facebook's Libra project in 2019 before exiting later that year. After a 3-year hiatus, Stripe reentered crypto with USDC payouts for Twitter, paving the way for its current expansion to other stablecoins and platforms.
