While the entire financial world has raced to offer increasingly convenient and secure cryptocurrency payment options, online payments giant Stripe has been one of the few steadfast holdouts. Amid a market crowded with competitors boasting about their latest crypto services, Stripe has kept its distance.
No longer. According to a statement by the company, Stripe is now going to give merchants using its products the option to send and receive payments using the Circle-backed stablecoin USDC. What’s more, the company will be adding “support for additional rails and payout currencies over time,” according to Stripe Crypto Project Manager Karan Sharma.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the rollout of USDC payment options will begin with Stripe’s most prominent outlet, Twitter. The functionality is anticipated to allow creators to receive earnings from their participation in the platform’s paid Ticketed Spaces and Super Follow features.
The choice of USDC – rather than more prominent cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum – seems to be in keeping with Stripe’s reticence to take the field in the crypto world. As a stablecoin, USDC is backed by the U.S. dollar, adding a level of trustworthiness that can mitigate the risks posed by the relatively new and unregulated world of crypto.
