Stripe, a US-headquartered cost 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 most important acquisition within the cryptocurrency area so far. Different latest main business offers embrace 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 corporations had been in superior talks. Nonetheless, the report highlighted that nothing was ultimate, and both occasion may again out. This turned out of date with Arrington’s affirmation.
Bridge allows companies to just accept funds from wherever utilizing stablecoins and helps funds from greater than 70 nations. The startup raised $40 million in its final Collection A funding spherical, bringing its whole funding to $58 million. Its backers embrace Sequoia, Ribbit Capital, Index, and Haun Ventures, a few of the high enterprise capital corporations 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’s going to enable the crypto startup to function independently or combine its companies 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 world stablecoin funds this summer season. Transactions immediately settle on-chain and mechanically convert to fiat. Be 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
Apparently, different established fintechs like Revolut and Robinhood are additionally contemplating launching their very own stablecoins. Whereas the method of those corporations and Stripe in 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.