Stripe makes $1.1 billion crypto bet as it closes on Bridge acquisition

Stripe has closed on its $1.1 billion purchase of stablecoin platform Bridge – marking the cost large’s largest acquisition to date and tangible push into crypto.

Co-founded in 2022 by Coinbase and Sq. alumni Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, San Antonio, Texas-based Bridge constructed an API that helps corporations settle for stablecoins. The pair raised $58 million from traders akin to Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital, in accordance with PitchBook. It was valued at $200 million when it raised a $40 million Sequence A in 2024.

With this acquisition, Stripe is clearly betting large on crypto. 

In a February 5 post on X, Stripe co-founder and CEO Patrick Collison wrote: “We anticipated Bridge (go observe them at @stablecoin) to develop in a short time, and we’re however shocked at simply how quickly adoption is exploding. Within the coming years, everybody programmatically shifting cash will possible need a stablecoin technique.”

Final July, Stripe enabled crypto purchases within the EU, and in October, the fintech introduced a Pay with Crypto characteristic that lets retailers settle for stablecoins.