What is Stripe’s ambition?
On June 12, the American payment processor Stripe announced the acquisition of the crypto wallet infrastructure company Privy, which will be integrated into Stripe but will continue to operate as an independent product. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the coming weeks, with specific transaction terms yet to be disclosed.
What sets Privy apart?
Privy’s embedded wallet allows developers to create a simpler onboarding experience, enabling users to create a crypto wallet without having to remember or record seed phrases. Additionally, Privy allows users to hold assets or execute actions directly within supported crypto applications without needing to connect third-party wallets like MetaMask for transactions.
For example, OpenSea uses Privy, allowing customers to purchase NFTs directly from its platform. Privy creates a wallet for consumers in the background, facilitating their purchases. Prior to this collaboration, OpenSea customers needed to create an external wallet through providers like MetaMask or Coinbase Wallet and link it to their accounts.
Henri Stern, co-founder and CEO of Privy, stated in a press release: “When we were just starting out, wallets were powerful, but they were only accessible to technically skilled individuals. Developers had to guide users outside the platform to get started, which disrupted the user flow and hindered user conversion. This resistance fundamentally limited the future development of the crypto space.”
Founded in New York by Stern and Asta Li, who was a founding engineer at Aurora before establishing Privy, the startup was created in 2021 and recently raised $15 million in a funding round led by Ribbit Capital, bringing its total funding to over $40 million. Other investors include Sequoia Capital, Paradigm, BlueYard, and Coinbase Ventures. According to Pitchbook data, Privy’s latest valuation in March this year was $230 million.
Privy claims that within three years, its technology has been widely adopted across the industry, supporting over 75 million accounts and 1,000 development teams, including mainstream crypto applications such as Pump.fun, Hyperliquid, and OpenSea, as well as startups like Blackbird, a restaurant loyalty program, and Toku, a global recruiting firm.
Regarding the acquisition of Privy, Patrick Collison, co-founder and CEO of Stripe, stated: “We are very excited to connect Privy’s wallet to the funding flow capabilities of Stripe and Bridge through a unified platform, enabling a new generation of global internet-native financial services.”
Stripe’s crypto journey
Stripe’s foray into crypto began in 2014. Stripe was one of the first payment companies to accept Bitcoin in 2014, but it halted this business in 2018 due to scalability issues and high transaction fees. Nonetheless, the company insisted at the time that it was “very optimistic about the overall prospects of cryptocurrency.”
Stablecoins are Stripe’s next attempt. In April 2024, the company announced that it would support stablecoin USDC payments this summer. Subsequently, in October, Stripe launched the “Pay with Crypto” public beta feature, allowing U.S. businesses to accept stablecoin payments and automatically convert them to fiat currency deposited into their Stripe accounts. Supported stablecoins include USDC and USDP, covering Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon chains. In the first week of launching stablecoin payments, Stripe’s stablecoin transaction volume surpassed its entire historical Bitcoin transaction volume.
However, Stripe still lacks a crucial component, needing a seamless method to process cross-border transactions. In November 2024, Stripe confirmed its acquisition of the stablecoin payment platform Bridge for $1.1 billion, which is expected to be completed in February 2025. This is Stripe’s largest acquisition to date, marking a significant move in the stablecoin space. The acquisition of Bridge enables it to optimize cross-border payment solutions and expand its stablecoin payment infrastructure.
In May 2025, Stripe launched stablecoin accounts in over 100 countries, aimed at helping merchants hold funds and pay overseas suppliers using USDC from Circle Internet Group Inc. and USDB, a stablecoin issued by Bridge.
Stripe’s series of moves indicate that the company intends to become the preferred provider for customers looking to increase support for crypto products or launch their own crypto offerings, as interest in exploring crypto technology is growing among companies ranging from large tech firms to traditional banks.
This article is a collaborative reproduction from: PANews