Stripe Welcomes Crypto Payments Back After 7 Year Hiatus

• Stripe has announced it will allow businesses to accept stablecoin payments from customers.
• US businesses will now be able to accept USDC payments.
• The fintech giant has had a tumultuous journey with crypto integration.

Fintech giant Stripe is reversing course on cryptocurrencies, announcing that it will once again support crypto payments on its platform.

The long-awaited move comes six years after the company discontinued support for Bitcoin (BTC) payments, potentially marking another step forward in crypto in the mainstream.

Stripe Back With Crypto

On Wednesday, Oct. 10, Stripe product lead Jeff Weinstein announced that businesses would be able to accept USD Coin (USDC).

“Crypto on Stripe is officially back!” Weinstein posted on X . “We’re rolling this out to hundreds of thousands of US businesses today.”

The rollout will enable hundreds of thousands of businesses in the United States to accept stablecoin payments, which will automatically settle as fiat in their Stripe balance.

The new feature will allow businesses to accept USDC payments made through Ethereum (ETH), Polygon (POL), and Solana (SOL).

Additionally, businesses can integrate the “Pay with Crypto” option into Stripe’s Checkout or through the platform’s Payment Intents API.

Once integrated and chosen, customers will be taken to a page hosted by crypto.link.com to connect their wallet and complete their payment.

The Fintech company said support for more countries should be available in the future.

A Tumultuous Journey

Stripe’s integration of crypto has been a tumultuous journey.

In 2014, the company became one of the first major payments companies to integrate Bitcoin.

Just four years later, however, the company pulled out of the offering, claiming the currency was too unstable.

“Over the past year or two, as block size limits have been reached, Bitcoin has evolved to become better-suited to being an asset than being a means of exchange,” the company said in its announcement . “This has led to Bitcoin becoming less useful for payments.”

In the years that followed, Stripe went on to a valuation of $55 billion in 2023. However, its competitors took the lead in adopting crypto.

Visa has been one of the most proactive traditional financial companies in integrating cryptocurrencies despite beginning its focus on Web3 years after Stripe.

In March 2021, Visa partnered with Crypto.com to enable transactions using USDC on the Ethereum blockchain.

The global payments technology company announced last year it was extending this Web3 partnership to include payments on Worldpay and Nuvei.

What Could This Mean for Crypto?

Stripe’s crypto payments integration will make it easier for millions of businesses to accept and interact with cryptocurrencies, marking another step forward for mainstream adoption.

Hundreds of major businesses, including Google, Amazon, and Walmart, use the payments company as a provider. Stripe can potentially bring stablecoin payments to some of the world’s biggest platforms.

Stripe’s clients also include Lyft, Deliveroo, and Airbnb. Crypto enthusiasts may now be able to use their wallets to purchase takeaways, taxis, and holiday rentals without using a workaround.

After many years of back-and-forth from Stripe, this new announcement finally looks to be committed to bridging the gap between traditional finance and Web3 .