Stripe Re-Initiates Crypto Support As It Partners With FTX

Key Insights:

• Stripe is offering businesses the ability to use it as a payment method for crypto and NFT transactions.
• The company will also provide support for more than 135 cryptocurrencies. 
• Stripe is bouncing back to crypto after ending Bitcoin support in 2018.

Stripe, a global payments firm, has revealed that it now supports crypto enterprises, including exchanges, wallet providers, and NFT marketplaces.

Stripe announced on Thursday that it had enabled fiat payments API integration for crypto businesses to handle cryptocurrency-to-fiat currency transactions.

The payments giant also says it provides adaptable exchange on-ramps as part of the cryptocurrency company’s toolkit.

According to Co-Founder John Collison via Twitter, the move could allow crypto exchanges to take fiat deposits and make withdrawals and make withdrawals.

The Stripe website explains that the firm’s solutions will enable customers to purchase more than 135 cryptocurrencies with fiat currencies in 180 countries.

Stripe now supports crypto businesses: exchanges, on-ramps, wallets, and NFT marketplaces. Not just pay-ins but payouts, KYC and identity verification, fraud prevention, and lots more. https://t.co/3X173SkdPd

— John Collison (@collision) March 10, 2022

Stripe’s crypto offerings, however, are presently only accessible in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. Its NFT services for marketplaces are likewise available in these areas and Japan.

Stripe Partners With FTX

Stripe has an agreement in place with FTX, FTX U.S., Nifty Gateway, Just Mining, and Blockchain.com to make it easier for users to access its Web3 services.

It also introduced Cube Thingies, a collection of NFTs created as part of its crypto suite, with funds donated to Watsi, a nonprofit healthcare provider.

The announcement also stated that the partnership will include Stripe providing payment services for the exchange.

Users of FTX and FTX.US will be able to acquire cryptocurrency using debit cards and direct bank transfers via Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions through the partnership.

History With Crypto Assets

Stripe has had a checkered relationship with crypto in recent years, deciding to stop Bitcoin support in 2018 and branding it “less useful” as a payment method after first supporting it in 2014.

In October, the firm announced plans to launch a crypto team and added venture capitalist Matt Huang to its board. 

The company’s re-entry into the sector has tremendous implications for existing Bitcoin payment processors that lack the firm’s vast network.