Original Author: Karen, Foresight News
This article was originally published on August 30, 2024, with the title: "Raising $58 Million, How is Bridge Building a Web3 Version of Stripe?"
Updated on October 21: According to TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington, "Payment giant Stripe has acquired the stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion." The Block stated, "Bridge is Stripe's largest acquisition to date and the largest acquisition in Web3 history." In October, Stripe officially launched and supported USDC payments, accepting stablecoin payments from over 150 countries, allowing buyers to pay USDC from Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon chains.
This week, Bridge announced the completion of a $58 million funding round, supported by investment firms including Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Index Ventures, Haun Ventures, and 1confirmation.
In fact, Bridge has been in development for over two years. The two co-founders of Bridge have a strong background in Coinbase and other well-known fintech companies. CEO Zach Abrams previously served as Chief Product Officer at fintech company Brex, held the position of Head of Consumer at Coinbase, and was General Manager at Square. CTO Sean Yu has worked as a senior engineer or engineering manager at Airbnb, Coinbase, Doordash, and Square.
Notably, according to TechCrunch, these two founders co-founded the P2P payment platform Evenly back in 2012, which aimed to simplify the payment process among friends for splitting bills and other expenses. The following year, Evenly was acquired by Square, further validating their innovative capabilities and strength in the payment field.
Bridge—The Web3 Version of Stripe
Bridge can be seen as the Web3 version of Stripe, helping businesses easily overcome the barriers to stablecoin adoption through a simple and user-friendly API interface, making the transfer and receipt of stablecoins more convenient and cost-effective. Whether integrating stablecoin payments, helping businesses issue their own stablecoins, or facilitating efficient cross-border fund transfers, Bridge provides comprehensive support and solutions.
Bridge's Orchestration API and Issuance API offer a relatively convenient experience for businesses and developers. The former helps businesses seamlessly integrate stablecoin payments, while Bridge handles all regulatory, compliance, and technical complexities; the latter allows businesses to quickly issue their own stablecoins within minutes, settling funds in their own stablecoin while accepting USD, EUR, USDC, USDT, or any other stablecoin, with reserves that can be invested in U.S. Treasury bonds to earn returns.
Bridge states that using its API allows for global fund transfers within minutes, seamlessly sending stablecoin payments, converting local fiat currency into stablecoins, and providing global consumers and businesses with USD and EUR accounts, enabling customers to save and spend in USD and EUR.
Bridge Has Processed Over $5 Billion in Annual Payments
Bridge has attracted numerous clients, including SpaceX. According to Fortune magazine, SpaceX uses Bridge to collect payments in different currencies across various jurisdictions and transfers them to its global treasury via stablecoins. Bridge has also established partnerships with crypto companies such as the Stellar blockchain network and Bitcoin payment app Strike, providing infrastructure for their own stablecoin payment functionalities. Additionally, Coinbase has adopted Bridge's services to support transfers between Tether on Tron and USDC on Base. Statistics show that Bridge has processed over $5 billion in annual payments.
@TTx0x revealed that it has spoken with 25 to 30 crypto payment companies in recent weeks, finding that these companies are generally using or planning to use Bridge's services.
In terms of compliance, Bridge has obtained operational licenses in multiple locations worldwide. Fortune magazine reported that Bridge currently holds licenses in 48 states and a VASP license in Poland, and is applying for further licenses in New York, Europe, and other locations. According to Conviction, in regions where Bridge is not yet compliant, they are covering a broader service range by establishing partnerships, such as collaborating with Bitso for B2B payments in Latin America.
Looking ahead, whether Bridge can lead a transformation in the stablecoin payment sector and inject new vitality and possibilities for the flow of stablecoins and fiat currency globally, including in Africa, remains to be seen, and we will keep a close watch on developments.
References:
https://fortune.com/crypto/2024/08/29/bridge-stablecoins-sequoia-ribbit-index-haun-58-million/
https://conviction.finance/2024/bridge-xyz-the-unknown-giant/
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