Stripe Stablecoin Issuance Platform Launch Amid Intense Competition

Stripe unveiled a platform for businesses to issue custom stablecoins on September 30, accelerating the payments giant’s expansion into the “stablecoin war” landscape.

The announcement introduced Open Issuance from Bridge, enabling businesses to launch their own branded stablecoins.

Stripe also enabled US businesses to hold stablecoin balances in their financial accounts. Businesses in more than 100 countries can request access.

The company added support for stablecoin subscription payments. The features formed part of a broader product update that included money management capabilities with financial accounts.

Businesses gained the ability to store funds in multiple currencies, including stablecoins, instantly convert currencies, and create virtual and physical cards that draw from their financial account balances.

The functionality launched in the Dashboard for US businesses, with UK support planned.

Bridge Acquisition Accelerates Stripe’s Stablecoin Strategy

Stripe acquired stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion in October 2024, more than five times its $200 million valuation.

Bridge received $58 million in a private fundraising round last year with participation from Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Index Ventures, and Haun Ventures.

The platform provided infrastructure to issue and transfer tokenized money across different blockchains. Notable clients include SpaceX, Coinbase, and Stellar.

Bridge stated that stablecoins solved critical financial problems by making money easier to move, more economical to hold, and cheaper to send.

Stripe processed over $1.4 trillion in total payment volume in 2024, representing a 38% increase from the previous year.

Tempo Blockchain by Stripe Targets Payment Infrastructure

Stripe and Paradigm unveiled Tempo on September 4, a layer-1 blockchain designed for stablecoin payments.

The announcement from Paradigm founder Matt Huang validated speculation that began when Stripe posted and quickly deleted blockchain engineering job listings in August.

Tempo operated in a private testnet with select partners testing cross-border payouts, B2B payments, and remittances.

The Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible network processed over 100,000 transactions per second with sub-second finality through a dedicated payments lane separating routine transactions from complex smart contract operations.

Design partners included Anthropic, Coupang, Deutsche Bank, DoorDash, Lead Bank, Mercury, Nubank, OpenAI, Revolut, Shopify, Standard Chartered, and Visa.

Visa chief product and strategy officer Jack Forestell stated that the future would be multi-chain. He said that stablecoins would operate across diverse blockchain networks.

Tempo incorporated stablecoin neutrality, allowing any entity to issue stablecoins and use any stablecoin for payments or gas fees.

The built-in automated market maker enabled seamless conversion between different stablecoins. The network supported opt-in privacy transactions and included compliance hooks designed for regulatory requirements.

Stripe joined Circle in launching layer-1 networks focused on payments with stablecoins. Circle revealed Arc on August 12, a multi-chain infrastructure for stablecoin transactions.

Traditional Finance Enters “Stablecoin War”

The stablecoin market experienced remarkable growth throughout 2025. It went from approximately $205 billion to over $290 billion as of September 24.

This growth trajectory supported aggressive future projections from government and industry leaders.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent projected the US dollar-pegged stablecoin market could exceed $2 trillion by 2028.

Standard Chartered forecasted a 10-fold increase from current levels to $2 trillion within three years following implementation of the GENIUS Act.

JPMorgan strategists projected more conservative growth to $500 billion by 2028. According to them, $1-2 trillion forecasts were too optimistic given infrastructure limitations.

However, current metrics supported aggressive projections. According to Artemis data, stablecoin transaction volumes surged 50% year-over-year in 2025, while active addresses grew 53% to reach 30 million users.

Circle’s USDC surpassed $70 billion in circulation, achieving 100% year-over-year growth. Tether’s USDT maintained market leadership with over $175 billion in circulation.

Traditional financial institutions launched competing initiatives throughout 2025. JPMorgan’s JPMD token, Société Générale’s USDCV stablecoin, and Fiserv’s planned FIUSD represented competitive threats from companies with existing corporate relationships and regulatory expertise.

Established infrastructure providers, such as Paxos and Agora, created additional competition.

Additionally, Coinbase, Sony, and Samsung joined a $14.6 million funding round by stablecoin infrastructure provider Bastion.

Stripe positioned itself as a comprehensive stablecoin infrastructure provider through Open Issuance and the Tempo blockchain as traditional finance accelerated entry into the $290 billion market.

The new platform may alter how players developing stablecoin initiatives explore opportunities in this market.