Stripe, a global giant in the payments sector, made an impactful announcement at its annual conference, the Global Internet Economy. During the “Future of Payments” talk, John Collison, president of Stripe, revealed the reintroduction of cryptocurrency payments within the platform, marking a significant return after a hiatus since 2018.
Collison, recalling the company's initial trajectory with cryptocurrencies, explained: “our history with crypto goes back a long time.” He reminded the audience of the brief support for Bitcoin that was discontinued due to low adoption. However, the scenario looks quite different today. “We are pleased to announce that we are bringing back crypto as a way to accept payments, but this time with a much better experience,” he said.
The decision to reactivate this functionality comes on the heels of a growing recognition of the practical value of cryptocurrencies. According to Collison, “Cryptography is finding real utility. As transaction speeds increase and costs fall, we see crypto finally making sense as a medium of exchange.” He added that the feature will be available this summer, promising an optimized experience for users.
This news comes after a period of relative quiet when it comes to new crypto developments at the company. Although some previous attempts to integrate cryptocurrencies have not taken off as expected, Collison had previously indicated, in a conversation with Axios last spring, that Stripe remained optimistic about the potential of cryptocurrencies. “Despite the fact that some of our early cryptographic products faced a lack of demand, the company was still interested in the role that cryptography could play in the future,” he said at the time.
Last year, Stripe launched a fiat on-ramp for cryptocurrencies, further facilitating the interaction between traditional finance and the emerging world of crypto. “The embeddable onramp is useful for Web3 companies that want to fully customize their brand and customer experience, while the Stripe-hosted option offers an even easier way for users to get started,” the company highlighted in a statement.
