The payment processor, Stripe, Announced Reintroduction of cryptocurrency payments.
Stripe is re-entering the cryptocurrency space with a focus on USDC, allowing businesses to accept payments in Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon starting this summer.
Stripe dropped Bitcoin payments in 2018 due to high costs and volatility, but in 2022 it continued to explore the cryptocurrency space, supporting NFT purchases and Web3 companies.
“Crypto is back! @Stripe will start supporting global stablecoin payments starting this summer. Transactions will be settled instantly on-chain and automatically converted to fiat,” Stripe co-founder John Collison said at X.
The decision to support stablecoin payments is consistent with Stripe’s positive stance on the potential of digital currencies, as they offer a less volatile alternative to traditional cryptocurrencies.
USDC is a stablecoin pegged to the value of the US Dollar and issued by Circle Internet Financial.
Its market capitalization of $33.45 billion makes it the second-largest stablecoin in the world after its biggest rival, Tether’s USDT.
According to data from CoinGecko, USDT has a market capitalization of $110.9 billion.