Stripe to Bring Stablecoin Cards to 100 Countries by Year-End

Stripe, the global payments giant, is significantly expanding its stablecoin card offerings, aiming to bring the service to over 100 countries by the end of 2024. The move reflects a broader bet on digital dollars as a mainstream payment option alongside traditional currencies. Henri Stern, CEO and co-founder of Privy (now part of Stripe), is leading the charge, overseeing Stripe's stablecoin and crypto initiatives.

Current clients like Kraken, Ramp, and Morse are already leveraging Stripe's stablecoin cards, which integrate with the company's existing card infrastructure. Stripe has issued over 400 million cards and processed hundreds of billions in card volume since 2018. The expansion follows Stripe's acquisition of Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure firm, for $1.1 billion earlier this year.

Stablecoin card spending surged to $1.2 billion last month, triple the amount from a year ago, according to Paymentscan. While still a small fraction of the global card payments market, the growth highlights stablecoins' expanding role beyond crypto trading and cross-border transfers. Stern emphasized that Stripe's products are designed to work seamlessly together without locking customers into its ecosystem.