Stripe has reinstated crypto payments for US businesses by enabling merchants to accept USDC through Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon. This marks a significant milestone for the payment processing giant, which first ventured into cryptocurrency in 2014.
Initially, Stripe was the first major payments company to support bitcoin payments. However, this feature was discontinued in 2018 due to declining demand linked to long confirmation times and high fees. After a six-year hiatus, the company is now allowing US businesses to accept USDC payments from customers in over 150 countries.
According to Stripe's product lead, Jeff Weinstein, the integration works seamlessly with checkout processes and is set to enhance subscription features in the near future. Stripe's CEO Jeremy Allaire expressed enthusiasm about the official launch of USDC payments, indicating its potential impact on the market.
Prior to this update, Stripe's EU arm enabled online vendors to add widgets for users to purchase various cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, and SOL. In addition, Stripe partnered with Coinbase to incorporate its Layer 2 network into its crypto payout products, enhancing user experience and accessibility.
With the reintroduction of Stripe crypto payments, businesses in the US are poised to leverage the benefits of stablecoin transactions. Further support for additional countries is expected in the future, signifying a growing interest in crypto among payment processors.
