Stripe Plans Stablecoin, Seeks Global Partners
1min read Stripe, a leading payments company, has announced its plans to develop and test its own stablecoin. Jennifer Lee, a product manager for Stripe Crypto, revealed this news on Friday, inviting companies outside the US to express their interest in gaining access to the dollar through this new asset.
The stablecoin will be powered by Bridge, a stablecoin startup that Stripe acquired in February. This move aligns with Stripe's long-term vision for the future of money. Patrick Collison, Stripe’s chief executive, has expressed his firm's desire to build this product for around a decade. In the firm’s annual letter earlier this year, Patrick and his brother John Collison, the Stripe co-founders, highlighted that stablecoins represent the future of money, stating that improvements to the basic usability of money make economies more prosperous.
Stripe's reemergence in the crypto sector began last October when it introduced support for USDC settlements on the Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon blockchains. Previously, Stripe had enabled payments using Bitcoin until 2018, when it discontinued support due to Bitcoin’s lack of utility as a payments rail.
This development comes as Stripe continues to expand its operations, with its total payment volume surging to $1.4 trillion in 2024, marking a 38% increase year-on-year. This total represents 1.3% of the world’s total gross domestic product (GDP).
Ask Aime: What impact will Stripe's new stablecoin have on the global financial landscape?
