Stripe, a major payments provider, saw users from 70 countries adopt its newly launched stablecoin payment option on the first day of its rollout, highlighting strong global demand for alternative payment solutions.
Stripe was the first major payment provider to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) in 2014. Still, the company backtracked on the decision in 2018, citing slow confirmation times and high fees as the reason for abandoning Bitcoin as a payment method.
On Oct. 9, Stripe introduced USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin payment options for its users following years of planning. In 2021, three years after discontinuing BTC payments, Stripe hired a new blockchain team tasked with working “across everything from web/mobile UIs to backend, payments and identity systems.”
Stripe allows users to add crypto as a payment option to the checkout page. Source: Stripe
Catering to global demand for crypto payments
After Stripe allowed merchants to accept USDC payments, individuals from more than 70 countries made stablecoin payments on the first day, according to a Bloomberg report. Jeff Weinstein, product lead at Stripe, said:
“We, as a principle, do things that Internet businesses want; and they want to reach more customers at lower cost. Stablecoins, while still early, show some sign that they can help achieve that.”
While announcing the return of crypto payments in April, Stripe co-founder and president John Collison said, “Crypto is finally making sense as a means of exchange.”
Source: John Collision
Related: Avalanche integrates with Stripe for fiat-to-crypto onboarding
Stripe’s total number of daily users was not publicly revealed and the company did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.
Stripe and Coinbase signed USDC integration
Stripe supports USDC on the Ethereum, Solana and Polygon blockchains and Pax Dollar (USDP) on Ethereum and Solana. All stablecoin payments are converted to the United States dollar before being stored in Stripe wallets. The company charges 1.5% of the transaction amount in US dollars.
In June, Stripe partnered with the crypto exchange Coinbase to bring fiat-to-crypto on-ramps and off-ramps to customers on both platforms.
As part of the deal, Stripe added support for Base across its crypto product suite while Coinbase added Stripe’s fiat-to-crypto on-ramp service into Coinbase Wallet.
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