Stripe reportedly seeking acquisition of stablecoin payment provider Bridge

Stripe is reportedly in talks to acquire stablecoin provider Bridge, five months after announcing it will allow U.S. merchants to accept USDC payments again.

Multinational payments firm Stripe is said to be in talks with the Texas-headquartered stablecoin payments hub Bridge to expand its portfolio of crypto offerings.

According to a Bloomberg report, both parties are still engaged in negotiations, with no final decision yet made. As of press time, neither Stripe nor Bridge has made any public comments on the matter.

If the acquisition proceeds, Stripe’s position in the crypto market could be strengthened as it seeks to expand its services. In late April, Stripe President John Collison highlighted the benefits of crypto transactions, emphasizing their “instant settlement” on-chain and automatic conversion to fiat.

In early October, the company in a partnership with stablecoin issuer Paxos launched its “Pay with Crypto” feature, enabling merchants in over 70 countries to accept stablecoin payments that settle 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 allows its customers not only to accept and send stablecoins, but also settle funds in a made-from-scratch stablecoin, per the firm’s website. In August, Bridge secured $40 million in a round led by Sequoia and Ribbit, bringing the total raised amount to $58 million.