Stripe Reintroduces Crypto Support, Enabling USDC Payments for Businesses Worldwide

On Wednesday, Stripe, the global payments leader, made a big move. They announced the return of cryptocurrency support, which marks six years since they stopped accepting Bitcoin payments. Now, businesses can accept USD Coin (USDC) from customers in over 150 countries. Jeff Weinstein, Stripe’s product lead, shared this exciting news on Twitter.

“Crypto on Stripe is officially back!” he tweeted. “We're rolling this out to hundreds of thousands of US businesses today.” More countries will be added soon, and Decrypt has reached out for more details.

In April, Weinstein mentioned that Stripe would start by supporting USDC payments on Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon networks. This move follows PayPal, which began allowing crypto transactions in 2021. With PayPal’s “Checkout With Crypto” feature, customers can shop at millions of merchants worldwide.

Stripe aims to simplify crypto transactions. They will automatically convert stablecoin payments into fiat currency and settle them through the merchant's Stripe account. The “Pay with Crypto” feature makes it easy for businesses to integrate these payments using Stripe Checkout, Elements, or the Payment Intents API.

Stripe has set limits at $10,000 per transaction and $100,000 per month, with a 1.5% transaction fee. This reintroduction of crypto services comes after they ended Bitcoin payment support in 2018 due to concerns about market volatility, slow transactions, and high fees. Stripe first started accepting Bitcoin in 2014.

Additionally, Stripe has teamed up with Avalanche to provide access to specialized crypto products and NFT platforms on that network.

Meanwhile, the government of Palau, a Pacific Island nation, is testing a blockchain-based savings bond system. This initiative aims to raise capital for essential infrastructure projects. A public review of the digital savings bond platform started this week, although no bonds have been issued yet. The funds raised will go toward building bridges, roads, and other public infrastructure.

In Colombia, neobank Littio announced it’s switching from Ethereum to Avalanche. This change will help customers find a cheaper way to hedge against the struggling peso. Littio is leveraging its relationship with OpenTrade, a startup that offers stablecoin solutions through tokenization of real-world assets. They are looking to use OpenTrade's yield-bearing savings solution to meet growing demand.

Lastly, crypto exchange Fastex is making waves in the compliance space. Their Chief Legal Officer, Vardan Khachatryan, shared insights about their Web3 ecosystem in a recent interview. He highlighted the current and upcoming products, including a centralized crypto exchange, an NFT marketplace, and the Bahamut Chain. “These products are shaping the future of compliance in the crypto space,” he noted.