365Crypto
Stripe is rolling out a new stablecoin product, targeting companies outside the US, UK, and Europe. CEO Patrick Collison announced it by inviting testers on X. The project follows Stripe’s approval to acquire Bridge, a stablecoin payments network.
Bridge challenges old banking systems like SWIFT by offering fast, borderless payments. It was launched in 2022 by two ex-Coinbase execs, Zach Abrams and Sean Yu.
Stripe has always been crypto-curious. They added Bitcoin payments back in 2014 but ditched it later due to slow speeds and high fees. In 2021, Stripe rebooted its crypto plans.
By 2024, Stripe introduced stablecoin payments in over 70 countries on launch day. It even partnered with Coinbase for easy fiat-to-crypto swaps.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies tied to assets like dollars, keeping their value steady.* Big names like PayPal have joined the stablecoin race, and even US lawmakers are paying attention.
Today, the stablecoin market cap is a massive $237.5 billion, according to DefiLlama.
*Stablecoin: A digital coin that stays stable by being linked to traditional money, like the US dollar.
