Stablecoin payments on Stripe witnessed global usage the day the platform introduced the feature.
Global payments provider Stripe introduced its USDC payment feature on October 9 to observe massive usage worldwide. Users from 70 countries reportedly utilized the stablecoin feature, as per Bloomberg, displaying massive demand for crypto payment solutions. However, the total number of users harnessing the feature is yet to be revealed.
The feature rolled out nearly three years after Strip instituted a blockchain team to develop payment systems using the technology for web and mobile users. Stripe was also one of the first mainstream platforms to provide Bitcoin payment services in 2014. However, it stopped the feature, citing long confirmation times and high fees, a common complaint with the layer-1 Bitcoin network.
Stripe’s product lead, Jeff Weinstein, said, “We, as a principle, do things that Internet businesses want; and they want to reach more customers at lower cost. Stablecoins, while still early, show some sign that they can help achieve that.”
News about Stripe’s re-entry into the crypto space made headway in April as the firm’s co-founder and president, John Collison, stated it would introduce stablecoin-related solutions at its annual Sessions event. “Crypto is back. @Stripe will start supporting global stablecoin payments this summer. Transactions instantly settle on-chain and automatically convert to fiat. Join the waitlist https://stripe.com/use-cases/crypto#request-invite… and watch the demo (h/t @Solana) from Sessions.”
Stripe Joined Hands With Coinbase to Bring Stablecoin Utility
Stripe’s USDC feature is powered by Coinbase, which the payments company announced in June. It has partnered with the exchange to bring on- and off-ramp services for the asset type and add support to the Coinbase-developed Base blockchain across its product suite. Coinbase has also integrated Stripe’s infrastructure into its Coinbase Wallet.
With Stripe’s stablecoin feature launch, users can convert about 150 fiat currencies to USDC and vice versa. Stripe supports USDC over Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon blockchains and Pax Dollar (USDP) over Ethereum and Solana. As opposed to Stripe’s Bitcoin reliance years earlier, these networks will provide quicker transactions at low gas fees. That could be argued for Ethereum, but the largest smart contract network would still offer lower fees compared to what Stripe users witnessed while using Bitcoin for payments.
Furthermore, the platform converts users’ stablecoin holdings to US dollars before storing them in their accounts. It charges 1.5% of every transaction as a fee.
