Stripe Rumored to Have Finalized a $1.1 Billion Acquisition of the Stablecoin Platform Bridge

Patrick and John Collison-led payment processing giant Stripe has reportedly bought stablecoin platform Bridge in a $1.1 billion deal.

Payment processing giant Stripe is reportedly in the final stages of acquiring stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion, according to an X post by TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington on October 20.

While Arrington confidently declared that “this deal is done,” neither Stripe nor Bridge has yet provided official confirmation. However, Arrington's report suggests that the deal had reached advanced stages by October 17.

The news of the potential acquisition was met with positive reactions from the crypto community on X. Notably, Jim Chang, co-founder and CEO of open-source protocol Catalyst, described it as the “biggest acquisition in crypto.”

The acquisition would be a major strategic move for Stripe, which was last valued at $70 billion in July 2024. If confirmed, the $1.1 billion transaction would also place it among the largest acquisitions in the cryptocurrency sector's history.

Stripe has been a leading force in the payment processing industry, handling transactions for businesses worldwide. In March, the company crossed a staggering $1 trillion in payment volume, which is said to account for about 1% of global GDP.

Significantly, this news comes as Stripe co-founder John Collison recently expressed plans to support global stablecoin payments. Earlier this month, Stripe also made its first major move in this direction by integrating Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) into its payments platform.

The “Pay with Crypto” feature by Stripe appears similar to PayPal’s “Checkout with Crypto,” which allows users to shop from merchants worldwide using stablecoins.

Furthermore, the financial infrastructure company partnered with Bitstamp to boost its European presence, allowing Web3 developers to embed a widget for easy crypto conversion and instant transaction settlement. The partnership also extends to other Web3 platforms like MetaMask, Blockchain.com, Magic Eden, and Nifty Gateway.

This year, Stripe also integrated Avalanche, supporting Avalanche C-Chain. Acquiring Bridge would help Stripe solidify its ambitions in the stablecoin ecosystem, enabling it to expand its crypto-based payment services.

Bridge, which was launched in 2022, is a rising star in the stablecoin payments domain. The platform is designed to rival traditional financial networks like SWIFT and credit cards by allowing businesses to create, store, send, and accept stablecoins easily.

Often referred to as the “Web3 answer to Stripe,” Bridge's approach to stablecoin payments has garnered significant attention from investors. In 2024, the company raised $58 million in funding from major firms including Sequoia, Ribbit, and Index Ventures.

As the crypto world awaits official confirmation from Stripe and Bridge, the acquisition, if finalized, could propel Stripe even further into the stablecoin world.