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Stripe has closed on its $1.1 billion purchase<\/a> of stablecoin platform Bridge \u2013 marking the payment giant\u2019s largest acquisition to date<\/a> and tangible push into crypto.<\/p>\n Co-founded in 2022 by Coinbase and Square alumni Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, San Antonio, Texas-based Bridge built an API that helps companies accept stablecoins. The pair raised $58 million from investors such as Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital, according to PitchBook. It was valued at $200 million when it raised a $40 million Series A in 2024.<\/p>\n With this acquisition, Stripe is clearly betting big on crypto.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a February 5 post on X<\/a>, Stripe co-founder and CEO Patrick Collison wrote: \u201cWe expected Bridge (go follow them at @stablecoin<\/a>) to grow very quickly, and we\u2019re nevertheless shocked at just how rapidly adoption is exploding. In the coming years, everyone programmatically moving money will likely want a stablecoin strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n Last July, Stripe enabled crypto purchases<\/a> in the EU, and in October, the fintech announced a Pay with Crypto feature that lets merchants accept stablecoins.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n