Stripe co-founder John Collison has overseen the fintech giant's re-entry into the cryptocurrency space.
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Months after co-founder John Collison declared “crypto is back,” fintech unicorn Stripe is in talks to acquire Bridge, a start-up that provides infrastructure for crypto stablecoins. five people familiar with the discussions said. forbes. The price tag is $1 billion, three of them said.
The acquisition is still under discussion and could be subject to exit by either party, but it is likely to be Stripe's largest to date, and was most recently valued at $70 billion. Regulatory considerations such as licensing and compensation for employees, including Bridge founders Zack Abrams and Sean Yu, remain potential hurdles, two people familiar with the matter said.
Stripe declined to comment. Bridge did not respond to requests for comment.
The previously unreported $1 billion valuation represents a significant increase from Bridge's previous funding rounds. The company had previously raised a total of $58 million in funding. luck The article recently valued the company at $200 million with a $40 million Series A round, two of the sources said. Bridge was already interested in a potential Series B raise at a higher valuation, they added.
Bloomberg previously reported that the two companies were in talks about a deal.
After suspending crypto payments in 2018 due to technical issues and high transaction rates, Stripe resumed accepting crypto payments in October. The acquisition of Bridge will provide the backbone for the company to delve deeper into stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies pegged to another currency or financial instrument. These coins, including Tether, USDC, and Dai, have a combined market capitalization of over $170 billion. forbes magazine Live tracker for digital assets.
Bridge, which provides software that allows businesses to accept cross-border stablecoin payments, processed more than $5 billion in payments annually, according to an August blog post from investor Sequoia. The company's customers include government agencies such as the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Treasury, as well as companies such as SpaceX and Coinbase. Other notable investors in Bridge include 1confirmation, Bedrock, Haun Ventures, Index Ventures, Oak HC/FT, and Ribbit.
Founders Abrams and Yu are also prominent entrepreneurs in the cryptocurrency and payments ecosystem. They previously built a Venmo competitor called Evenly, which they sold to Block in 2013. Abrams held senior positions at payments companies Coinbase and Brex, while Yu worked at DoorDash and Airbnb. The two have teamed up again to launch Bridge in 2022.
Stripe has made several acquisitions in recent years, but the terms of all transactions are private. Stripe acquired TaxJar in 2021, according to data from startup tracker PitchBook. The startup has raised $62 million at an undisclosed valuation from investors of $179 million. In July, it acquired Lemon Squeezy, a startup that reportedly turned down a Series A funding offer.
In early October, Stripe announced the availability of a new “Pay with Crypto” feature that integrates stablecoins with its customer checkout service while imposing a 1.5% transaction fee. In an Oct. 9 interview about the feature, company president Will Gaebrick said: forbes We believe that stablecoins have the potential to be a more efficient means of payment for some consumers, especially outside the United States. [that] It turns out that the killer app for cryptocurrencies is just money,” Gaebrick said.
Asked directly if Stripe was trying to acquire Bridge for support, Gaebrick countered: [in stablecoins]and as of now, there is no update in that regard,” he said.
Additional reporting by Jeff Kauflin and Katie Jennings.
