- Payment processor Stripe has announced support for Web 3.0 architecture
- Customers can now buy, hold, and sell tokens and NFTs and more
- Stripe halted Bitcoin usage in 2018 after adopting it in 2014
Payment giant Stripe has announced cryptocurrency support for businesses, offering everything from on-ramps to KYC, in a move that reverses its decision to halt support for Bitcoin in 2018. Stripe has signed up with FTX, Nifty Gateway, Blockchain.com and more to offer a variety of Web 3.0 services, and has even launched its own NFT collection…naturally. The new offering even includes the ability to pay out in stablecoins with regulatory obligations fully observed.
Stripe Goes Big With Crypto Coverage
Stripe co-founder John Collison announced the company’s new offering on Twitter, as is custom, while the supporting cast of companies also heralded their part in the development. The new crypto offering will enable users to buy more than 135 cryptocurrencies with fiat currencies over 180 countries, while customers will also have access to tools and APIs that will make it easier for them to buy and store coins, cash out, trade NFTs and handle compliance workflows like Know Your Customer (KYC).
Stripe also launched its own NFT collection called Cube Thingies as a part of the announcement, with proceeds going to the healthcare non-profit Watsi.
Reversal Proves Optimism Was “Not Unfounded”
Stripe began supporting Bitcoin payments back in 2014, but halted this in 2018 when the block size cap and network congestion led to the company halting this option, stating in a blog post that Bitcoin was “better-suited to being an asset than being a means of exchange”.
However, as a freshly added note to the top of this blog post states, Stripe acknowledges that its “optimism for the future of crypto was not unfounded” and that “crypto is going mainstream”, pointing readers to its new offering, clearing up any doubt as to where it now stands on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
