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Recently, the sale of another cryptocurrency company has become clearer. A platform initiated by former Coinbase employees is being sold. The cryptocurrency sector has faced challenging times, where investment decisions have been retracted. However, there has been an increasing trend of investments and agreements in this area for a long time.
Bridge is Being Sold
The platform, which enables businesses to issue and accept stablecoins, was launched by former Coinbase employees. There is significant interest in projects and infrastructures that build a bridge between traditional finance and Web3. We are witnessing an increase in the number of infrastructure services related to tokenization, crypto issuance, and other areas, including Chainlink 
$15’s CCIP.
Bridge, initiated by Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, is set to be sold to Stripe for approximately $1.1 billion. According to Forbes, negotiations are in advanced stages. Michael Arrington reported that the deal was completed as this article was being prepared. Bridge had built an API that assists companies in accepting stablecoins and received $58 million in funding from numerous investors.
With the latest investments, the company, which has a valuation of $200 million, has reached a valuation of $1.1 billion with the signing of the agreement, rapidly multiplying its value. This marks Stripe’s first significant acquisition.
Stripe and Cryptocurrency
Amid the growing global interest in cryptocurrencies, Stripe began allowing crypto purchases in the EU in July. Additionally, businesses have been allowed to accept payments in stablecoins for some time, facilitated by the “pay with crypto” feature.
PayPal’s growth in this area undoubtedly compels competitors to take action. For a payment API service provider like Stripe, acquiring Bridge makes a lot of sense. Similar triggers have been observed among asset managers, with BlackRock and Franklin already holding tokenized bonds of immense value.
Furthermore, banks have initiated crypto custody and trading services to stand out and secure a share of the growing competitive landscape. Cryptocurrencies have long emerged from the underground and are now climbing into towering skyscrapers. The next phase, as expressed by Fed member Waller, seems to be the integration of DeFi protocols’ power with traditional finance, creating a new “real” digital finance experience.
Stripe believes that its acquisition of Bridge is a smart move, recognizing that the future is here.
