Yesterday Stripe agreed to acquire Privy which provides a white label onboarding and wallet service for developers to integrate into crypto solutions. The three year old startup has grown at a rapid clip. When it raised its last funding round in March it said it supported 50 million wallets, with that figure now up to 75 million supporting 1,000 applications. It has received $40 million in backing to date.
The news follows Stripe’s launch of stablecoin financial accounts last month, after its acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge for $1.1 billion in October 2024. Stripe’s engagement with blockchain should not come as a surprise. Since November 2021 one of its board members has been Matt Huang from crypto venture firm Paradigm. And it’s a small board with just seven members, including the two Stripe founders and two from Sequoia. Both Paradigm and Sequoia were backers of Privy.
This move builds on Stripe’s broader expansion beyond its traditional payments focus. While Stripe started by supporting e-commerce payments which remains its core focus, in 2018 it launched a Point of Sale terminal. Notably, Privy also built a tap to pay functionality into its wallet, which is used by companies ranging from NFT firm OpenSea to social networks Farcaster and Zora.
Sequoia is one of its backers. In a statement it said, “Privy is addressing a sea change that will redefine global finance over the next 20 years. That opportunity hasn’t changed, but in joining Stripe, Privy can further catalyze it.” It continued, “As part of Stripe, the potential ahead for Privy is boundless. We can’t wait to see how this team shapes the future of finance.”
Sequoia’s optimism reflects broader market enthusiasm for stablecoin infrastructure with the stablecoin hype cycle is nearing its peak. Key factors include the impending passage of stablecoin legislation in the United States and the recent listing of stablecoin issuer Circle. Its stock issuance price last week was $31 and the current price quote is $118.
