Stripe Makes $1.1 Billion Move Into Stablecoins With Bridge Acquisition

Stripe announced its acquisition of Bridge Stable, a cross-border blockchain settlement provider, for $1.1 billion in cash and equity. The deal represents the first major stablecoin expansion by a global fintech since PayPal introduced PYUSD. Executives said Bridge’s infrastructure will enable instant multi-currency settlements across partner banks and e-commerce clients. Analysts view the purchase as a strategic play to diversify Stripe’s payment ecosystem and compete with crypto-native payment rails amid accelerating DeFi integration.