Stripe is looking to integrate cryptocurrency payouts for certain businesses, initiating the move with the social media platform Twitter. The company is rolling out this option on Friday, Apr. 22nd, utilizing as of yet the stablecoin known as USDC, Circle's US dollar-backed cryptocurrency. Only a select few Twitter creators will have the option to accrue USDC via their Super Follows and Ticketed Spaces earnings just yet.
As the name suggests, stablecoins are intended to be less volatile digital assets backed by flat currencies. While the move does prove to be worthwhile in that firms are beginning to grow more accustomed to the world of digital assets, Stripe is also maintaining a more secure point of view by sticking mainly to a stablecoin. The company last attempted crypto payouts with bitcoin but no sooner dropped support for the coin in early 2018 following concerns of volatility and transactional efficiency.
USDC has a current market cap of over $50 billion. It launched in 2018 and soon skyrocketed into popularity leading into 2020 and beyond. The current conversion rate of USDC to USD is, as one might expect, equal, as the whole point of the stablecoin is to diminish its potential for volatility and uncertainty while still maintaining a level of anonymity and decentralization.
Introducing crypto payouts: https://t.co/xJnpLmsBKn. pic.twitter.com/PJQ2oTaU7J
— Stripe (@stripe) April 22, 2022
Related Article: Stripe Accespts Crypto Payments Again After Previously Calling Bitcoin 'Less Useful'
The ever-burgeoning field of Web3 and metaverse applications has allotted Stripe new interests in the digital asset world. The company expanded employment considerations last year focusing on both Web3 and cryptocurrencies, building out a team solely dedicated to the field. In March, the $95 billion fintech firm pushed back into the realm when Stripe cofounder John Collison announced on Twitter that the company would support cryptocurrency businesses, such as NFT marketplaces, exchanges, wallets, and more. The move itself was aptly titled "Global payment solutions for Web3."
In a blog post published on Friday, Apr. 22nd, Stripe's product manager of crypto, Karan Sharma, relayed key information about this new move, explaining it as a way to leverage crypto platforms "to unlock broader access." As previously mentioned, Twitter will be Stripe's first partner in this endeavor, with more on the way. The system will currently run on Polygon network's Layer 2 solution, an Ethereum-based platform that will cost a lot less and work far faster than its alternative bottom-layer network.
Sharma added that the team will be working "to add support for additional rails and payout currencies over time." Despite the hype, some of the biggest cryptocurrencies have seen a negative downturn in the past six months. Bitcoin itself has dropped a total of 40% since November, while Ethereum, too, has been faced with some cloudy positions. On Friday, Apr. 22nd, nearly all crypto coins were in the negative per assorted investors' concerns.
Still, companies are leaping at the opportunity to forge better opportunities for crypto enthusiasts, as witnessed via the likes of PayPal, Visa, and plenty more. Even with the promise of broadened incentives in the Web3 sphere and, as Sharma put it, "open-access global financial rails" potentialities, Stripe's move into the territory could be a bit too late as concerns of a crypto market crash seem ever-more likely.
