Stripe, a US-headquartered fee processing agency, has sealed the acquisition deal for Bridge, a fintech startup specialising in transferring cash utilizing stablecoins like Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC, by paying $1.1 billion, TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington confirmed. Nonetheless, the businesses are but to make an official assertion.
Largest Crypto Deal to Date
The $1.1 billion price ticket makes this the biggest acquisition within the cryptocurrency area so far. Different current main business offers embody CoinShares’ acquisition of Valkyrie Funds for $530 million and Robinhood’s buy of Bitstamp for $200 million.
The affirmation of Stripe’s acquisition of Bridge got here solely a few days after a Bloomberg report revealed that the 2 firms had been in superior talks. Nonetheless, the report highlighted that nothing was ultimate, and both celebration might again out. This grew to become out of date with Arrington’s affirmation.
Bridge permits companies to just accept funds from anyplace utilizing stablecoins and helps funds from greater than 70 nations. The startup raised $40 million in its final Sequence A funding spherical, bringing its complete funding to $58 million. Its backers embody Sequoia, Ribbit Capital, Index, and Haun Ventures, among the high enterprise capital companies globally.
Stripe Strengthens Crypto Presence
For Stripe, which is valued at $70 billion, the acquisition follows its transfer to allow crypto funds for US companies.
Though Stripe’s plans for Bridge stay unclear—whether or not it is going to enable the crypto startup to function independently or combine its providers inside Stripe’s platform—it’s evident that the deal will enable the funds big to develop its presence within the stablecoin ecosystem.
Crypto is again. @Stripe will begin supporting international stablecoin funds this summer time. Transactions immediately settle on-chain and robotically convert to fiat. Be a part of the waitlist https://t.co/hws2OsU3Id and watch the demo (h/t @Solana) from Periods. pic.twitter.com/zGKYW2FM6i
— John Collison (@collision) April 25, 2024
Curiously, different established fintechs like Revolut and Robinhood are additionally contemplating launching their very own stablecoins. Whereas the method of those firms and Stripe in the direction of stablecoins differs, it highlights the sector’s rising attraction, particularly after the implementation of the Markets in Crypto-Property Regulation (MiCA) within the European Union.
This text was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.
