Stripe is a global payments infrastructure company that has become a significant player in the cryptocurrency space through its suite of crypto integrations. Founded in 2010 by Patrick and John Collison, Stripe processes hundreds of billions of dollars annually for millions of businesses and has leveraged that scale to bridge traditional payments and crypto rails.
Stripe's fiat-to-crypto onramp allows platforms and applications to let users purchase cryptocurrency directly using credit cards, debit cards, and bank transfers. The onramp handles identity verification, fraud detection, and payment processing, enabling developers to embed crypto purchasing into their products without building compliance infrastructure from scratch. The service supports multiple cryptocurrencies and operates across dozens of countries.
In addition to the onramp, Stripe offers USDC payouts that allow platforms to pay out funds to recipients in USDC stablecoins on supported blockchains. This is particularly useful for cross-border payouts where traditional banking rails are slow or expensive. Stripe also acquired Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure company, in 2024 to deepen its capabilities in stablecoin-based payment flows.
Stripe's approach to crypto is pragmatic rather than ideological. The company focuses on use cases where blockchain technology solves real payment friction, particularly in global payouts, onramp conversion, and stablecoin settlement. Stripe originally supported Bitcoin payments in 2014 but dropped that support in 2018 before re-entering crypto with its current product suite.
Key Crypto Products
- Fiat-to-crypto onramp — Embeddable widget for purchasing crypto with traditional payment methods
- USDC payouts — Stablecoin disbursements for platforms and marketplaces
- Crypto payment processing — Accept crypto payments and settle in fiat
- Bridge acquisition — Stablecoin infrastructure for cross-border money movement