Stripe Brings Back Crypto Payments Via USDC Stablecoin
After a six-year hiatus, Stripe is diving back into the cryptocurrency world. The payments giant announced it will begin accepting crypto payments again, but this time with a twist: they’ll focus on stablecoins, starting with USD Coin (USDC) this summer.
“We’re thrilled to reintroduce crypto as a payment option,” declared Stripe co-founder and President John Collison during a keynote address at the company’s Global Internet Economy conference. “This time, however, we’re offering a significantly improved experience thanks to stablecoins.”
Stripe has a long history with crypto, having entered the Bitcoin ecosystem in 2014. However, in 2018, they discontinued all crypto efforts, citing Bitcoin’s volatility and its suitability as an asset rather than a currency. They also pointed to slow transaction times and rising fees as concerns.
This decision coincided with the first major crypto bear market, with Bitcoin plummeting from a December 2017 high of $19,650 to just $3,401 by year’s end.
While Stripe stepped away from direct crypto involvement, they dipped their toes back in the water in 2019 by co-founding Facebook’s Libra project (which ultimately failed to launch). More recently, in 2022, they initiated a project to facilitate fiat-to-crypto conversions.
“Crypto is finally evolving into a practical medium of exchange,” Collison explained. “Transaction speeds are increasing, and costs are decreasing, making crypto a more viable option.”
Initially, Stripe will support USDC stablecoin payments on the Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon blockchains. With a valuation of $65 billion (according to Bloomberg) and processing over $1 trillion in transactions in 2023, Stripe is a major player in the payments industry. Their re-entry into crypto, albeit with a focus on stablecoins, signifies a growing confidence in the technology’s potential as a mainstream payment method.
