Acquiring Privy, Stripe aims to be the Jupiter in the stablecoin space.

Editor's Note: As regulatory winds shift positively and infrastructure continues to mature, stablecoins are quietly emerging as a core component of next-generation payment networks. This article focuses on the latest strategic moves by payments giant Stripe—from restarting crypto payments and acquiring Bridge and Privy, to building a fully integrated stablecoin "full stack" ranging from frontend wallets to backend settlement layers. This is not merely a technical iteration, but rather Stripe's collective bet on the future of programmable money. It sends an important signal: the widespread adoption of stablecoins may not originate from crypto-native firms but rather from traditional tech giants like Stripe taking the lead.

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Stripe is steadily building an unmatched infrastructure for stablecoins.

The payments giant has just announced the acquisition of Privy, a leading wallet infrastructure provider, marking another major move in its return to the crypto domain—driven by the explosive growth potential of stablecoins.

If you're unfamiliar with Stripe, it's a payments platform serving about half of the Fortune 100 companies and 78% of projects on the Forbes AI 50 list. Last year, Stripe processed $1.4 trillion in payments, achieving a year-over-year growth rate of 38%. In comparison, Stripe's revenue growth pace was seven times that of S&P 500 constituent companies, underscoring its expansive reach into mainstream commerce. In other words, Stripe is precisely the kind of "ideal candidate" we hope can drive stablecoin adoption.

The Privy acquisition follows closely on the heels of Stripe’s significant purchase of Bridge—a deal described as the largest acquisition in the company’s history. Together, these two moves send a clear message: Stripe is positioning itself to dominate the full-stack technology landscape for "stablecoin-native payments" and "programmable money."

Let’s dive into the tools Stripe is bringing to the table.

What Does Privy Bring to Stripe?

Privy offers a suite of tools designed to smooth out the "rough edges" of the crypto ecosystem, particularly in wallet usability.

With Privy’s Software Development Kit (SDK), developers can embed crypto wallets directly into their applications, while users can create wallets with familiar methods such as email or social media accounts, drastically lowering the barriers to entry for crypto products.

According to the acquisition announcement, Privy currently serves over 1,000 teams and a total of 75 million accounts, having processed billions of dollars in transaction volume. Its client roster includes key players in the crypto space, such as Hyperliquid and Farcaster.

For Stripe, Privy and its previously acquired Bridge are a natural complement to each other. Privy packages the once-complicated wallet infrastructure into "plug-and-play" Stripe-style components, and together with Bridge's stablecoin solutions, they form a complete stablecoin payment toolchain.

In other words, Stripe can now provide services across the entire crypto stack. On the front end, Privy offers wallet tools, while on the back end, Bridge enables stablecoin settlement and transfers.

Bridge: The Backend Engine for Stablecoins

Bridge, acquired by Stripe this February for $1.1 billion, delivers three core services that developers can integrate with just a few lines of code:

Transaction orchestration: Helping businesses execute stablecoin transfers, custody, and payouts while Bridge handles compliance and regulatory requirements.

Stablecoin issuance: Businesses can issue their own stablecoins via Bridge, with reserves invested in U.S. Treasury bonds. The interest income can be shared with the issuer.

Cross-border transfers: Enabling account setup in USD and EUR and facilitating global fund flows.

Bridge has already demonstrated its strong real-world application value: Starlink (via its parent company SpaceX) uses Bridge to remit revenues earned in Argentina back to the U.S. in a stable USD format; Nigerian users utilize Bridge to pay for YouTube Premium and ChatGPT subscriptions; and U.S. small and medium-sized businesses accept global stablecoin payments through Bridge, bypassing the complexities of traditional international banking systems.

Since its acquisition by Stripe, Bridge has scaled rapidly. Its "stablecoin financial accounts" now cover 101 countries, where businesses can hold balances in USDC and USDB (Bridge's proprietary stablecoin) and receive payments through both traditional banking methods and crypto networks.

Moreover, Bridge recently collaborated with Visa to launch the world's first stablecoin credit card issuance product. This offering has enabled fintech and crypto companies such as Ramp, Squads, and Airtm to issue Visa cards directly connected to stablecoin wallets, allowing users to spend their stablecoin balances at over 150 million merchants globally that accept Visa.

Full-Stack Bet: Stripe's Stablecoin Journey

Stripe’s journey with crypto spans over a decade, marked by multiple experiments and retreats. As early as 2014, Stripe introduced Bitcoin payment functionality, but ended support in 2018 due to the asset's high price volatility. In 2019, Stripe joined Facebook’s Libra project (later giving rise to Sui and Aptos), but eventually decided to step away.

The reasons for each retreat were strikingly similar: price instability, immature infrastructure, and unclear regulatory guidance. However, the current shift in the U.S. government's stance on crypto assets—especially stablecoins—has transformed the landscape. Stablecoins pegged to the dollar, offering programmability and high liquidity, combine the stability of fiat currency with the flexibility of cryptocurrency, and are increasingly gaining support from the U.S. regulatory ecosystem.

Stripe’s recent product developments reflect its confidence in this emerging trend. In 2024, after a six-year hiatus, Stripe is reopening crypto payments, allowing merchants to accept USDC via the Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon networks. Its partnership with Coinbase also enables support for crypto payments on the Base network, with a seamless fiat-to-crypto conversion channel integrated directly within Coinbase Wallet.

Today, with Privy handling wallet infrastructure and Bridge providing stablecoin backend services, Stripe has achieved comprehensive control over both the front-end and back-end of the "programmable money" tech stack. Historically, the adoption of stablecoins has often been hindered by infrastructure gaps—businesses found it challenging to onboard users into crypto payments, while users were deterred by the complexity of wallet experiences.

Now, Stripe is systematically dismantling these barriers. For stablecoins, this moment might represent the true "tipping point."

Stripe's influence extends far beyond the crypto space, as it deeply integrates with mainstream commerce, e-commerce platforms, and enterprise software ecosystems. By simplifying the integration of stablecoins into just “adding another payment option,” Stripe has the potential to significantly accelerate the adoption of crypto in what is still considered a niche market.

At its core, Stripe isn’t merely “buying infrastructure”—it is actively building a foundational network for "programmable money" that bridges fiat, cryptocurrency, and AI-driven applications. After years of cautious experimentation, Stripe’s truly full-stack commitment this time could expedite the transition of stablecoins from crypto-native use cases to becoming a central component of the global mainstream financial system.

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