Stripe reportedly seeking acquisition of stablecoin payment provider Bridge

Five months after Stripe announced it would allow US merchants to accept USDC payments again, it is reportedly in talks to acquire stablecoin provider Bridge.

Multinational payments company Stripe is said to be in talks with Texas-based stablecoin payment hub Bridge to expand its portfolio of crypto offerings.

According to Bloomberg, both sides are still in negotiations and no final decision has been made yet. As of press time, neither Stripe nor Bridge had publicly commented on the matter.

If the acquisition goes ahead, Stripe’s position in the crypto market could strengthen as it aims to expand its services. In late April, Stripe President John Collison highlighted the benefits of crypto transactions, highlighting their on-chain “instant settlement” and automatic conversion to fiat money.

At the beginning of October, the company partnered with stablecoin issuer Paxos to launch its “Pay in Crypto” feature, which allows merchants in more than 70 countries to accept stablecoin payments accepted as fiat. Additionally, merchants can issue refunds by converting fiat currency back into stablecoins and sending the refund directly to the original payment wallet.

Founded in 2022 by former Square and Coinbase executives Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, Bridge not only allows its customers to accept and send stablecoins, but also allows them to deposit funds into a stablecoin built from scratch, according to the firm’s website. In August, Bridge raised $40 million in a round led by Sequoia and Ribbit, bringing the total raised to $58 million.