Stripe Tests New Stablecoin Project as $3.7T Market Looms
Stripe is preparing to test a new stablecoin payments product aimed at companies based outside the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.
The company's CEO, Patrick Collison, confirmed on social media that Stripe had been planning this offering for nearly a decade and is now opening it up to pilot users.
The announcement comes after Stripe received regulatory approval to acquire Bridge, a payments platform founded by former Coinbase executives Zach Abrams and Sean Yu. Bridge's infrastructure offers an alternative to traditional systems like SWIFT for cross-border transactions.
Stripe's stablecoin pilot project comes at a time when companies ranging from crypto firms to TradFi banks are piling into the industry, trying to grab a piece of the red-hot sector. In fact, Citi said stablecoins could be a "ChatGPT" moment for blockchain adoption, and the market, primarily pegged to the U.S. dollar, could grow up to $3.7 trillion by 2030 with regulatory support.
Stripe has a long history with crypto. It was the first major payment processor to support bitcoin payments back in 2014, though it later dropped the feature over BTC's slow transaction speeds and fees.Sign in to access your portfolio
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
4 hours ago
- CNBC
European stocks set to extend gains after White House hints at tariffs extension
Good morning from London. European equities look set to extend yesterday's gains at the open on Friday. Futures tied to the FTSE 100 are marginally higher, while those tied to Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 indexes are up by 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively. It comes after the Trump administration said the July deadlines for so-called reciprocal tariffs "could be extended" and are "not critical." — Chloe Taylor U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a "One Big Beautiful" event at the White House in Washington, DC., U.S., June 26, 2025. Nathan Howard | Reuters President Donald Trump could extend looming deadlines for reimposing steep tariffs on imports from most of the world's countries, the White House said Thursday. Trump's July 8 and 9 deadlines for restarting tariffs on those nations are "not critical," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. "Perhaps it could be extended, but that's a decision for the president to make," Leavitt said. Leavitt also said Thursday that if any of those countries refuse to make a trade deal with the United States by the deadlines, "The president can simply provide these countries with a deal." In late May, Trump threatened to impose tariffs of 50% on imports from European Union nations, all of whom had already been subject to the reciprocal tariffs imposed in April. Read more here. — Kevin Breuninger
Business Insider
4 hours ago
- Business Insider
U.S. Dollar Hegemony Expected to Support Strategy's (MSTR) Bitcoin Bet
Strategy (MSTR), previously known as MicroStrategy, effectively functions as a leveraged proxy for Bitcoin (BTC-USD), and as such, it introduces a high degree of volatility to any portfolio. While a growing macroeconomic narrative suggests that U.S. dollar hegemony may be weakening, my ongoing analysis does not support this view. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter Investors considering MSTR should do so with the expectation of a bullish Bitcoin scenario under relatively stable macroeconomic conditions, not as a hedge against a collapse of the U.S. dollar. Bitcoin prices have been volatile throughout 2025, clawing back early losses to stand approximately at the same level as they did in January. Although crypto volatility is evident, I remain bullish on MSTR. USD Hegemony Remains Intact Despite Incremental Weakening As of 2024, the U.S. dollar remains the dominant currency, accounting for approximately 60% of global foreign exchange reserves, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It also maintains dominance in global trade, representing roughly 80% of transactions, and comprises about 90% of foreign exchange market activity, reflecting unmatched liquidity and institutional trust. Given these factors, concerns about an imminent collapse of the U.S. dollar appear overstated. A more realistic scenario is one of gradual, potentially reversible erosion, especially as advancements in AI and robotics drive long-term GDP growth, which could help offset the fiscal pressures associated with rising federal debt. That said, we are witnessing a slow but steady diversification into alternative reserve assets, including the euro (EUR), Chinese renminbi (RMB), and gold. Some prominent investors interpret this trend as the early stages of a long-term structural shift away from dollar dominance. In this context, narratives can become self-fulfilling, especially if key stakeholders begin to more openly support the productivity gains associated with AI. A more optimistic outlook on technological progress could go a long way in restoring confidence in U.S. fiscal sustainability. Given that Strategy would likely benefit in a scenario where confidence in the dollar erodes, I remain cautious about projecting outsized returns based solely on that premise. However, should such a macro disruption occur, both MSTR and Bitcoin exhibit 'antifragile' characteristics—that is, they tend to gain value in periods of systemic stress or uncertainty. This quality is rare and potentially valuable. The key caveat is MSTR's high cyclicality; successful investment requires entering at a favorable valuation and either having a clear exit strategy or the conviction to hold through significant volatility. Strategy Stock Offers Cyclical Hyper-Growth Strategy's business model is based on issuing equity and convertible debt to finance Bitcoin acquisitions. The stock trades at a premium of around 100% of its Bitcoin holdings, in anticipation that the company will continue to leverage favorable financing conditions to expand its BTC reserves. Investors are essentially paying this premium because they expect Bitcoin holdings per share to increase in the future, and they're also betting on management's ability to execute BTC acquisitions at well-timed valuations. There are no direct competitors with a comparable trajectory to Strategy, so its best sector comparison is with BTC itself. The company also has a Software segment, but this has become marginal to the broader BTC-accumulation strategy we're currently witnessing. In Q1 2025, the segment achieved $111 million in total Software revenue, a 3.6% decline compared to Q1 2024, according to Main Street Data. In contrast, in June, Strategy's Bitcoin holdings increased to 592,345 BTC, with a market value exceeding $63.5 billion at $ 107,000 per BTC. MSTR's GAAP earnings per share are currently -$16.49 as of the last earnings report, but this reflects the impact of legal fair-value rules on losses from unrealized Bitcoin positions. This mark-to-market hit, affecting hundreds of thousands of BTC, is what dominates the company's consolidated earnings. However, this is not a reliable gauge for the company's long-term return prospects, as Bitcoin's price is cyclical and highly volatile, meaning these periodic losses are inherent to the return horizon MSTR has embarked upon. Beware of the Halving Cycle Upending Near-Term Returns Bitcoin most predictably rallies based on halving cycles, and the last one was on April 20, 2024. This reduced the mining reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block. These halvings enforce BTC scarcity, thereby strengthening its value. Historically, halvings have been catalysts for long-term price appreciation, often accompanied by a substantial pullback period. We'll be nearing the peak of sentiment in 2026, so buying MSTR stock now is a 12-month trade with heavy volatility risk on the horizon. Is MSTR Stock a Good Buy? On Wall Street, Strategy stock has a consensus Strong Buy rating from top analysts, based on 12 Buys, zero Holds, and one Sell. MSTR's average stock target price is $524.92, indicating a 35% upside potential over the next 12 months. This suggests that, despite the cyclical nature of the investment, which remains inevitable, the upside in the immediate future is likely to be substantial. Strategy Stock Is a Strong Investment, for Now While some view MSTR as a tactical hedge against a potential collapse of the U.S. dollar, such a scenario remains highly improbable given the current structural strengths of the U.S. economy, particularly with emerging tailwinds from AI and robotics innovation. In the near term, I'm bullish on MSTR due to favorable sentiment cycles surrounding Bitcoin; however, a cyclical downturn appears likely. For long-term investors seeking leveraged exposure to Bitcoin, such a pullback may offer the most attractive opportunity for accumulation.
Business Insider
5 hours ago
- Business Insider
BTC, ETH, XRP: U.S. to Consider Crypto Assets on Mortgage Applications
In what's being called a major shift, the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency is directing lenders to consider a person's cryptocurrency assets when evaluating home mortgage applications. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter The Housing Finance Agency has issued a directive ordering Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) to formally consider crypto as an asset in single-family mortgage assessments. The new order directs both housing finance agencies to develop proposals that include digital assets without requiring borrowers to liquidate them into U.S. dollars prior to a home loan closing. The move is being viewed as a new era of crypto integration into traditional finance and comes as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump pushes to legitimize digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and XRP (XRP). New Approach The U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency said in a social media post that the move aligns with President Trump's efforts 'to make the United States the crypto capital of the world.' Historically, cryptocurrency has been excluded from consideration in loan and mortgage applications due to its volatility and price swings, as well as the inability to easily verify reserves. That approach is now changing as the U.S. federal government and institutions embrace crypto across banking, payments, and as policy. 'Cryptocurrency is an emerging asset class that may offer an opportunity to build wealth outside of the stock and bond markets,' states the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency's order. The new directive restricts crypto mortgage consideration to digital assets that are stored on U.S.-regulated, centralized exchanges and can be clearly verified. It also requires Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop internal adjustments to account for crypto's market volatility. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has gained 11% this year. Is BTC a Buy?
