Stripe Will Accept Crypto Payments Again Using USDC Stablecoin
Stripe, the financial technology behemoth, is gradually reestablishing its presence in the cryptocurrency domain. On Thursday (April 25), the company declared that it would begin allowing customers to accept payments in cryptocurrency, specifically starting with USDC stablecoins, and initially on the Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon blockchains. This marks Stripe’s first foray back into accepting crypto payments since it ceased supporting Bitcoin in 2018, citing its instability.
The move in 2022 to reintroduce cryptocurrency transactions in a limited capacity, where Stripe facilitated payouts in USDC but not direct payments, featured Twitter as a prominent customer. Unlike the previous announcement, the latest update does not specify any customer engagements.
Stripe Is Reintroducing Crypto Payments To Enhance User Experience
At the upcoming Connect developer conference in San Francisco this week, Stripe’s co-founder and president, John Collison, is set to make a significant announcement. Earlier on Thursday, Collison highlighted improvements in transaction efficiency at Stripe, noting that the duration and cost of transactions are now far less than the lengthy and expensive nature of a Christopher Nolan film production. He revealed that Stripe is reintroducing crypto payments, this time utilizing stablecoins to enhance the user experience.
Crypto is back. @Stripe will start supporting global stablecoin payments this summer. Transactions instantly settle on-chain and automatically convert to fiat. Join the waitlist https://t.co/hws2OsU3Id and watch the demo (h/t @Solana) from Sessions. pic.twitter.com/zGKYW2FM6i
— John Collison (@collision) April 25, 2024
This strategic pivot reflects Stripe’s ongoing engagement with cryptocurrency, balancing innovation with the stability required of a major financial entity. Historically, Stripe has navigated a delicate balance with crypto, aiming to influence discussions on blockchain technology’s impact on financial services without compromising its core business operations. Last year, Stripe processed transactions totaling $1 trillion, underscoring its substantial growth and current valuation of $65 billion.
Stripe Will Also Let Customers Integrate Competing Payment Providers With The Company’s Tools
On Wednesday, ahead of this announcement, Stripe disclosed a series of other significant updates. For the first time, the company will allow its customers to integrate competing payment providers with Stripe’s suite of financial services tools. This move is a part of Stripe’s broader strategy to dismantle its ‘walled garden’ approach, signifying a major shift towards more open financial services.
The company revealed that three of its most popular offerings—the Optimized Checkout Suite, Stripe Billing, and Stripe Radar—will now be available even to companies that use other payment processing providers. This change is particularly impactful for large enterprises previously unable to utilize Stripe’s services without violating existing long-term contractual obligations.
Will Gaybrick, Stripe’s president of product and business, emphasized the company’s commitment to embracing modularity at its core, stating that a major area of future investment will be aiding users in managing the complexities associated with operating multiple payment processors.
The announcement is part of a wider initiative aimed at enhancing Stripe’s interoperability and fostering a broader ecosystem of partners. In this vein, Stripe has more than doubled the number of applications in its Stripe App Marketplace, expanding from 70 to 150. This expansion includes new apps designed for Salesforce, Netsuite, and Adobe.
Furthermore, Stripe is introducing new integrations for its Stripe Terminal hardware with systems from Oracle OPERA, Teamwork Commerce, Erply, Mercaux, and Tulip. Additionally, a new partnership with American Express has been established, adding to the roster of issuers in Stripe’s Enhanced Issuer Network, signaling a robust effort to extend Stripe’s capabilities and integrate more deeply with a variety of partners and platforms.
Stripe’s History With Crypto Payments
Stripe initially ventured into the cryptocurrency realm in 2014 by experimenting with Bitcoin, the first major cryptocurrency. Early testing partners highlighted Stripe’s pivotal role given Bitcoin’s departure from traditional monetary characteristics. However, by 2018, Stripe discontinued these activities, citing the cryptocurrency’s volatility and instability. The company noted that Bitcoin had evolved more into an asset than a medium of exchange, due to reached block size limits, rendering it less practical for payments.
In June 2019, as Facebook intensified its crypto initiatives, Stripe joined as one of the founding members of the Libra project. However, Stripe’s involvement was short-lived; by October 2019, it withdrew its support, although it expressed continuing interest in projects that enhance global online commerce accessibility, like Libra, and remained open to future collaboration with the Libra Association.
Three years later, Stripe re-engaged with the cryptocurrency sector, this time partnering with Twitter to implement stablecoin (USDC) payouts. This renewed interest reflects Stripe’s ongoing evaluation of various stablecoins and platforms, seeing potential opportunities at least in the short term. The future of Stripe’s commitment to this latest venture remains uncertain, as the company continues to assess the viability and timeline of its crypto-related efforts.
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