Sequoia could gain more than $100m from Stripe’s $1.1b Bridge acquisition

American venture capital firm Sequoia is set to make more than $100 million from Stripe’s acquisition of stablecoin platform Bridge. The deal reportedly cost Stripe $1.1 billion.

Sequoia and several other venture capital firms have seen multiple returns on their investments in the crypto startup, according to an Oct. 29 Bloomberg report. Sources familiar with the deal told Bloomberg that venture capitals stand to make hundreds of millions of dollars from Stripe’s acquisition of stablecoin startup platform Bridge.

According to multiple sources who wish to remain anonymous, this is because Sequoia Capital owns approximately 16% of Bridge. Therefore, Sequoia’s stake in the startup crypto platform is worth more than $100 million. That return largely dwarfs Sequoia’s initial investment of $19 million, which led to Bridge’s Series A financing less than a year ago.

San Francisco-based payment processing company Stripe agreed to acquire Bridge for $1.1 billion on October 20. The huge value of the acquisition has created new hope for venture capital funds interested in investing in crypto-related projects.

Sequioa isn’t the only venture capital firm making millions from its Stripe acquisition. Another venture capital, Ribbit, owns about 10% of Bridge, valuing it at almost $100 million. Other investors include Bedrock, which owns more than 6%, Index, which owns 6%, and venture firm Haun Ventures, which owns 4%.

Bridge is a three-year-old startup operating as a stablecoin platform. Stablecoins are digital currencies with a value pegged to stable assets, usually the US dollar or other fiat currencies. Their values ​​remain stable, making them suitable for daily transactions.

Although it’s a relatively new platform, a source close to the deal told Bloomberg that Bridge has reached a transaction rate of around $14 million and continues to accelerate. Bridge’s rapid growth is what prompted Stripe to acquire the startup for $1.1 billion, the source said.

In addition to the acquisition of Bridge, Stripe is known to be interested in other stablecoin projects. On October 15, Stripe partnered with Paxos to include Circle’s USDC(USDC) stablecoin under its “Pay in Crypto” option. Thanks to this partnership, merchants in 70 countries were able to make payments using the stablecoin.

In the past, Stripe has also been shown to be involved in the cryptocurrency industry through other ventures. Stripe previously offered payments to creators on X via USDC. It also launched a fiat-to-crypto migration service in 2022.