Financial services company Stripe buys digital wallet venture Privy, specializing in cryptocurrencies.
Stripe Bolsters Crypto and Blockchain Capabilities with Privy Acquisition
In a strategic move to strengthen its digital asset capabilities, Stripe has announced the acquisition of Privy, a three-year-old startup specializing in crypto wallet infrastructure. The acquisition aims to enable businesses to seamlessly connect with crypto wallets and blockchain systems through a single API.
Privy, founded in 2022, already supports over 75 million accounts and 1,000+ developer teams, processing billions in crypto transactions. This significant addition to Stripe's offerings will undoubtedly enhance its crypto offerings.
The acquisition of Privy complements Stripe's earlier $1.1 billion acquisition of Bridge, a stablecoin-focused platform that powers Stripe's stablecoin financial accounts supporting USDC and Bridge's proprietary USDB stablecoins. Through Bridge, Stripe has already entered blockchain-native financial services. Combined with Privy, Stripe now covers the entire spectrum, from traditional fiat rails (enhanced by the Orum deal for instant US bank connectivity) to stablecoin infrastructure and blockchain wallet connectivity.
Stripe's future plans appear to be focused on supporting a hybrid payments model, where digital assets and fiat money coexist and operate interoperably. This strategy signals a shift in the payments landscape, blurring the lines between crypto and traditional finance to offer a seamless, compliant, and full-stack payment infrastructure.
Despite the acquisition, Privy continues to scale its wallet solutions independently, indicating that Stripe values the company's innovation and integration capabilities to enhance its own platform without immediate disruptive changes.
This combined approach reflects Stripe's vision to be a leading platform that integrates all forms of payments—fiat, stablecoins, and crypto—within a compliant and developer-friendly environment. The impending passage of stablecoin legislation in the United States is a key factor in the market enthusiasm for stablecoin infrastructure, and the recent listing of stablecoin issuer Circle has further fueled this excitement.
Stripe started by supporting e-commerce payments but has expanded beyond this focus, launching a Point of Sale terminal in 2018. The company's board is small, with just seven members, including the two Stripe founders and two from Sequoia, another backer of Privy.
The acquisition of Privy is expected to further catalyze the redefinition of global finance over the next 20 years, as Stripe positions itself as a platform that integrates all forms of payments within a compliant and developer-friendly environment. Sequoia, a backer of Privy, expresses optimism about the stablecoin infrastructure market, with the stablecoin hype cycle nearing its peak.
Sources:
- Stripe Acquires Privy to Bolster Crypto and Blockchain Capabilities
- Stripe Launches Stablecoin Financial Accounts
- Stripe's Hybrid Payments Strategy Blurs Lines Between Crypto and Traditional Finance
- Privy Continues to Scale Independently Post-Acquisition
- Sequoia Expresses Optimism About Stablecoin Infrastructure Market
- With the acquisition of Privy, Stripe will provide news on seamless connections between businesses and blockchain systems using a single API, enhancing its finance and crypto insights through the integration of Privy's crypto wallet infrastructure.
- The addition of Privy to Stripe's offerings, along with its stablecoin focus through Bridge, positions Stripe to offer a hybrid payments model, leveraging technology to blend digital assets, fiat money, and blockchain-native financial services.
