Payments company Stripe acquired the stablecoin platform Bridge in a deal worth $1.1 billion, according to TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington. This acquisition is reportedly the largest in the crypto industry to date.

According to reports, Stripe will facilitate stablecoin payments for businesses using Bridge's innovative software tools. Founded in 2022 by entrepreneurs Sean Yu and Zach Abrams, Bridge provides a platform for companies to accept and manage stablecoin transactions. 

Stripe, valued at $70 billion as of July 2023, sees this acquisition as a way to further enhance its offerings in the payments space, particularly as demand for cryptocurrency solutions continues to grow.

Bridge: Innovating Stablecoin Payments

Bridge was designed to compete with established payment networks like SWIFT and traditional credit card systems. The platform enables businesses to create, store, send, and receive stablecoins, positioning it as a viable alternative for companies looking to tap into the benefits of digital currencies. 

Bridge addresses some of the challenges associated with traditional payment methods, such as high fees and slow transaction times, by allowing users to accept stablecoin payments.

Prior to Bridge, Sean Yu and Zach Abrams, the founders, co-founded Evenly, a peer-to-peer payment service that was acquired by Block (formerly Square) in 2013. Abrams also held senior roles at Coinbase, where he was the Head of Consumer. Yu has experience working in engineering roles at prominent companies such as Coinbase, Square, DoorDash, and Airbnb.

Bridge previously raised $58 million from a range of investors, including Sequoia, Ribbit, and Index Ventures. Its most recent funding round valued the company at around $200 million. The $1.1 billion acquisition price thus represents a significant surge in valuation.

Stripe’s Ongoing Commitment to Digital Currencies

Stripe has long been at the forefront of payment processing, allowing businesses to accept credit and debit card transactions online. The company recently announced that it surpassed $1 trillion in total payment volume for 2023, a feat that accounts for about 1% of global GDP. 

This acquisition comes just months after Stripe's co-founder, John Collison, announced plans to support global stablecoin payments starting in the summer. The company has also begun integrating stablecoin payments into its user interface, allowing businesses to transact using Circle’s USD Coin (USDC).