Acquiring Privy, Stripe Aims to Be the Jupiter of the Stablecoin Space
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Acquiring Privy, Stripe Aims to Be the Jupiter of the Stablecoin Space
Stripe can now deliver services across the entire crypto stack, with wallet tools provided on the frontend through Privy and stablecoin settlement and transfers supported on the backend by Bridge.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsCompiled by Ismay, BlockBeats
Editor's note: As regulatory winds shift favorably and infrastructure matures, stablecoins are quietly becoming core components of the next-generation payment network. This article focuses on payment giant Stripe’s latest strategic moves—restarting crypto payments, acquiring Bridge and Privy, and building a full-stack stablecoin ecosystem covering both frontend wallets and backend clearing. This is not merely a technical upgrade but a collective bet by Stripe on the future of programmable money. It sends a clear signal: the widespread adoption of stablecoins may not originate from crypto-native players, but rather be pioneered by traditional tech giants like Stripe.
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Stripe is steadily building an unrivaled stablecoin infrastructure.
The payment giant has just announced its acquisition of Privy, a popular wallet infrastructure provider—an important move in its return to the crypto space, driven by the explosive potential of stablecoins.
If you're unfamiliar with Stripe, it's a payment platform serving half of the Fortune 100 companies and 78% of the projects on the Forbes AI 50 list. Last year, Stripe processed $1.4 trillion in total payment volume, a 38% year-on-year increase. In comparison, Stripe’s revenue growth rate is seven times that of S&P 500 companies, demonstrating its powerful reach across mainstream commerce. In short, it is precisely the kind of player we'd hope to drive stablecoin adoption.
This acquisition of Privy follows closely on the heels of its high-profile purchase of Bridge—the largest acquisition in Stripe’s history. Together, these two deals send a clear message: Stripe is aiming to control the entire technology stack for "stablecoin-native payments" and "programmable money."
Let’s take a closer look at what assets Stripe now holds.
What does Privy bring to Stripe?
Privy offers tools that smooth out the rough edges of the crypto world, especially around wallet user experience.
Developers can use Privy’s software development kit (SDK) to embed crypto wallets directly into their applications. Users can quickly create wallets using familiar methods such as email or social logins, significantly lowering the barrier to entry for crypto products.
According to the acquisition announcement, Privy currently serves over 1,000 teams and 75 million accounts, having processed billions of dollars in transaction volume. Its client list includes key players in the crypto space such as Hyperliquid and Farcaster.
For Stripe, Privy is a natural complement to Bridge, which it acquired earlier. Privy packages complex wallet infrastructure into plug-and-play components in the classic Stripe style, combining with Bridge’s stablecoin solutions to form a complete stablecoin payment toolchain.
In other words, Stripe can now offer services across the entire crypto stack—frontend wallet tools via Privy, and backend stablecoin clearing and transfers powered by Bridge.
Bridge: The Backend Engine for Stablecoins
Bridge, acquired by Stripe in February for $1.1 billion, provides three core services that developers can integrate with just a few lines of code:
Transaction orchestration: Enables businesses to transfer, custody, and receive stablecoins, with Bridge handling compliance and regulatory requirements.
Stablecoin issuance: Businesses can issue their own stablecoins through Bridge, with reserves invested in U.S. Treasuries and interest income shared between Bridge and the issuer.
Cross-border transfers: Supports opening USD and EUR accounts and global fund transfers.
Bridge has already demonstrated strong real-world utility: Starlink (via parent company SpaceX) uses Bridge to reliably repatriate earnings from Argentina back to the U.S. in USD; users in Nigeria use Bridge to pay for YouTube Premium and ChatGPT subscriptions; small and medium-sized enterprises in the U.S. accept global stablecoin payments via Bridge, bypassing the complexities of traditional international banking systems.
Since being acquired by Stripe, Bridge has expanded rapidly. Its “stablecoin financial accounts” now cover 101 countries, allowing businesses to hold balances in USDC and USDB (Bridge’s own stablecoin), and receive funds through both traditional banks and crypto networks.
In addition, Bridge recently partnered with Visa to launch the world’s first stablecoin-powered credit card issuance product. Using this solution, fintech and crypto firms such as Ramp, Squads, and Airtm have begun issuing Visa cards directly linked to stablecoin wallets, enabling users to spend their stablecoin balances at more than 150 million merchants worldwide that accept Visa.
A Full-Stack Bet: Stripe's Path to Stablecoins
Stripe’s relationship with crypto spans over a decade, marked by multiple attempts and retreats. As early as 2014, Stripe launched Bitcoin payment support, but discontinued it in 2018 due to excessive price volatility. In 2019, Stripe joined Facebook’s Libra project (which later evolved into Sui and Aptos), but ultimately chose to exit.
The reasons for each withdrawal were similar: price instability, immature infrastructure, and unclear regulation. However, the shifting stance of the U.S. government toward crypto assets—especially stablecoins—has changed the landscape. Dollar-pegged stablecoins with programmability, strong liquidity, and increasing regulatory support now combine the stability of fiat with the flexibility of cryptocurrencies.
Stripe’s recent product expansions reflect its confidence in this trend. In 2024, after a six-year pause, Stripe reopened crypto payments, supporting USDC receipts via Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon networks. Its partnership with Coinbase also enables crypto payments on the Base network and allows direct fiat-to-crypto conversion within Coinbase Wallet.
Now, with Privy handling wallet infrastructure and Bridge powering the stablecoin backend, Stripe has achieved end-to-end control over the programmable money tech stack. In the past, stablecoin adoption was often hindered by infrastructure gaps—businesses wanted to adopt crypto payments but struggled to onboard users, while users hesitated due to complicated wallet experiences.
Today, Stripe is systematically removing these barriers. For stablecoins, this might just be the true “tipping point.”
Stripe’s influence extends far beyond the crypto community. Deeply embedded in mainstream commerce, e-commerce platforms, and enterprise software ecosystems, Stripe has the potential to dramatically accelerate stablecoin adoption—even in markets where crypto remains niche—by simplifying integration into nothing more than “adding a new payment method.”
In essence, Stripe isn’t just buying infrastructure—it is actively building a programmable monetary foundation capable of integrating fiat, crypto, and AI applications. After years of cautious experimentation, Stripe’s full-stack commitment could accelerate the transition of stablecoins from crypto-native curiosities into mainstream global financial systems.
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