Bridge Secures $58M in Funding to Build Global Stablecoin Payments Network

The startup, led by former Square and Coinbase alumni, aims to simplify stablecoin adoption for businesses by integrating a seamless payments infrastructure.

Bridge, a crypto startup founded by former Square and Coinbase employees Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, has successfully raised $58 million to build a global payments network based on stablecoins. The latest funding round, which brought in $40 million, was led by Sequoia and Ribbit, two prominent venture capital firms.

Bridge's primary mission is to create a global payments network that allows businesses to use stablecoins seamlessly without worrying about the complexities of integrating crypto into their financial operations. "We aim to enable companies to use a stablecoin rail without thinking about it," Abrams said in an interview.

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to traditional financial assets, most commonly the U.S. dollar, to avoid the volatility associated with tokens like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). For businesses, stablecoins represent an entry point into the crypto economy, offering the benefits of digital assets while mitigating the risk of price fluctuations. However, the challenges remain in linking these digital currencies with traditional financial systems and facilitating transfers across different tokens and blockchains.

Bridge's innovative solution aims to address these challenges by offering a Web3 version of a payment processing platform like Stripe. The startup aspires to function as a global payments system that other developers can integrate into their platforms, enabling easy and secure transactions using stablecoins. This model could significantly lower the barrier for companies looking to adopt crypto payments without needing to become experts in blockchain technology.

Notably, Bridge's services have already attracted significant clients, including SpaceX and Coinbase. These partnerships underscore the startup's potential to influence the broader financial landscape as businesses increasingly explore the benefits of digital currencies.

Earlier this year, Stripe announced its intention to incorporate crypto payments using Circle's USDC stablecoin, highlighting a growing trend among payment processors to integrate stablecoin technology. Bridge's ambition to become a leading player in this space positions it as a key innovator in the ongoing evolution of global finance.

Bridge has not yet provided further details on how they plan to deploy the newly raised funds, but the company is expected to continue expanding its network and refining its technology to meet the needs of an increasingly digital economy.

photo source / Blockonome