FinTech Firm Stripe Announces Return to Crypto Payments with USDC Support on Ethereum and Solana

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As someone who has followed the cryptocurrency space closely and witnessed the evolution of Stripe’s involvement in it, I’m thrilled to see the company reintroduce cryptocurrency payments, with a focus on stablecoins. Stablecoins have come a long way since the early days of Bitcoin payments on Stripe, which unfortunately didn’t gain enough traction due to slow transaction speeds and high fees at the time.

At Stripe Inc.’s annual conference, Stripe Sessions, held in San Francisco on Thursday, John Collison, the co-founder and president, revealed that the company will soon allow merchants to accept stablecoins as payment for online transactions. This cryptocurrency payment option is scheduled to be introduced during the summer.

Collison accentuated the substantial progress in crypto technology, bringing about swifter transaction processing and lower fees, thereby improving its functional value. He put emphasis on the growing stability of stablecoins – digital currencies linked to fixed assets such as the dollar – and conducted a demonstration using Circle’s USDC token during his presentation. This development unfolds as stablecoins experience increasing recognition, signified by PayPal Holdings Inc.’s introduction of its own stablecoin, PYUSD, in the previous year.

Thinking back on Stripe’s past experiences with cryptocurrencies, Collison mentioned that around ten years ago, the business enabled Bitcoin transactions. Unfortunately, this feature was shut down in 2018 because of insufficient customer demand and a less than ideal user experience at the time.

I’ve noticed that Stripe has been delving deeper into the world of cryptocurrencies recently. They’ve experimented with enabling creators on Twitter to receive payments in digital currencies and, more notably, launched a crypto on-ramp service in 2022. With this service, businesses can now offer their customers an easy way to convert traditional money into cryptocurrencies. Notable clients like Blockchain.com, MetaMask wallet, and Magic Eden NFT marketplace have already joined Stripe’s expanding crypto venture.

Moving onchain payments forward 🫡

— Solana (@solana) April 25, 2024

I observed as Bloomberg News broke the news that at the conference on Wednesday, Stripe made a notable policy shift. Previously, companies using Stripe’s products were obligated to process payments through Stripe only. However, with this change, businesses now have the freedom to select payment services that align best with their unique requirements, untethered from Stripe’s processing solutions.

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2024-04-25 22:36