Stripe to Reintroduce Cryptocurrency Payments After Six-Year Hiatus

Payment service Stripe has announced plans to support transactions in the stablecoin USDC this summer.

Crypto is back. @Stripe will start supporting global stablecoin payments this summer. Transactions instantly settle on-chain and automatically convert to fiat. Join the waitlist https://t.co/hws2OsU3Id and watch the demo (h/t @Solana) from Sessions. pic.twitter.com/zGKYW2FM6i

— John Collison (@collision) April 25, 2024

Stripe President and Co-founder John Collison explained that transactions are instantly processed on-chain and automatically converted to fiat. The company has opened a waitlist.

In 2018, Stripe abandoned digital assets, citing the high volatility of Bitcoin.

“We […] are bringing back cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, but this time with more experience. […] Digital assets are finding real applications. With increased transaction speed and reduced costs, they finally make sense as a medium of exchange,” stated Collison.

Customers will be able to conduct transactions with USDC on Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon.

At the end of 2019, Stripe exited Facebook’s Diem project.

In 2021, Collison described himself and the company as “enthusiastic fans of Bitcoin.”

In June 2023, Forbes included Stripe among the top five cryptocurrency projects in the ten most innovative private companies in the fintech sector.