Payment processing company Stripe recently announced a Series I fundraising of over $6.5 billion, at a valuation of $50 billion. The funding was led by Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, MSD Partners, and Thrive Capital, with new investors such as GIC, Goldman Sachs Asset and Wealth Management, and Temasek also participating. The funds will be used to provide liquidity to current and former employees, and address staff withholding tax obligations related to equity awards. Despite the current difficult funding environment, Stripe does not require this capital to run its business.
Stripe’s relationship with the digital asset industry dates back to 2015, when it announced plans to accept Bitcoin. However, due to concerns over price volatility and transactional inefficiencies, the service only lasted three years. In April 2022, Stripe unveiled a new pilot program in partnership with Twitter to enable a small group of creators to send and receive payments in USDC stablecoin via its payment platform, Connect. This marks a significant milestone in Stripe’s journey in the digital asset industry and will help the company further its mission of creating an internet economy that is more open and accessible to everyone.
