Stripe’s Acquisition of Bridge Validates the Usage of Stablecoins: Bernstein

Stripe’s acquisition of Bridge validates the usage of stablecoins for public blockchains, broker Bernstein said in a research report Tuesday.

“With improvements in blockchain scalability, stablecoins have emerged as the leading use case for blockchains, particularly for cross-border payments,” analysts led by Gautam Chhugani wrote.

U.S. dollar denominated stablecoins on crypto rails are now the cheapest method of cross-border payments, at a cost of only 1-2 basis points, the report said.

Payments processor Stripe finalized a deal to buy stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion, according to an X post from TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington on Sunday, later confirmed by both companies.

Bernstein noted that the Bridge deal is the largest crypto acquisition by a major payments company to date.

Companies such as Bridge “play an important role by building API software for businesses to integrate stablecoin payments within their regular payments experience,” the authors wrote.

This deal highlights the “growing recognition of stablecoin-based payments and their compelling benefits,” investment bank Architect Partners said in a report Monday, noting that these coins are increasingly being used by non-crypto firms.

It’s hard to see a more disruptive challenge to the TradFi banking system, “payments at scale without the involvement of a bank,” the report added.

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