Online Payments Company Stripe Eyes Crypto Return
Payments platform Stripe is expected to start accepting crypto payments in the near future. The San Francisco-based fintech firm has also put together a research team to explore different avenues in the crypto space.
The company said that it is not “implausible” to start accepting crypto payments in the upcoming weeks. In the past, the firm had started accepting Bitcoin payments but suspended the practice in 2018.
Stripe assembles a crypto team for research and explores web3
Stripe has recently assembled a team that is dedicated to research the crypto market. Besides, the team will also explore web3 – a concept that revolves around the decentralized internet future. However, as of now, the company has not decided on the range of services it will offer in the crypto space.
In November, the fintech firm pulled in Matt Huang, co-founder of crypto-focussed venture capital company Paradigm to support the team.
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The rise of crypto
Stripe suspended crypto payments in 2018 amid uncertainty around cryptocurrency across different countries. Currently, the global cryptocurrency market cap has reached $3 trillion.
Besides, a number of financial institutions have also entered the crypto market that seems to have evolved over the past couple of years. Hence, it does not come as a surprise to see Stripe eye a return to the crypto market.
John Collison, co-founder of Stripe said that the company is keeping its door to cryptocurrencies open. Collison added that different people look at crypto differently. He said that there have been significant developments in the crypto space that are making it a scalable and acceptable payment method.
More than a handful of payment platforms have entered the crypto market over the past few years. For example, Neteller, a leading payment platform accepts cryptocurrencies on its web platform. Even PayPal launched its cryptocurrency trading services in the last quarter of 2020. At the moment, the company has also expanded into the UK and is working toward making its services available to users worldwide.
Robinhood is another popular fintech company that is heavily involved in the cryptocurrency domain. All in all, the global crypto market is expected to grow at a steady pace as more and more conventional financial institutions and banks venture into the space.
More about Stripe
Stripe was founded in 2009 and since then has established itself as one of the largest privately-held fintech companies in the U.S. Currently, its market valuation is around $95 billion.
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Feature Image Source: Image by WorldSpectrum from Pixabay
