Stripe Launches Stablecoin Account Services Across 101 Countries, Supporting USDC and USDB for Businesses
On May 7, Stripe announced the launch of a new feature that allows platform clients to “send, receive, and hold U.S. dollar stablecoin balances, similar to traditional fiat bank accounts.”These accounts support Circle’s USDC and Bridge’s USDB, the latter being a stablecoin platform acquired by Stripe in October 2024.The service will cover more than 100 countries, including Argentina, Chile, Turkey, Colombia, and Peru.
The five core points are as follows: :
The account supports USDC by Circle and USDB by Bridge;
The accounts are custodied by Bridge, a Stripe subsidiary;
Funds can be deposited via ACH, wire transfer, or crypto wallets, and can be withdrawn to bank accounts or crypto addresses;
The service will cover 101 countries, including Argentina, Chile, Turkey, Colombia, and Peru;
Stripe also plans to launch a Visa card denominated in USDC.
The Role of Bridge
Bridge is a stablecoin payments platform acquired by Stripe in October 2024, focused on delivering financial services built around stablecoins.
In this stablecoin account rollout, Bridge plays a critical infrastructure role — not only as the issuer of USDB, but also as the compliance layer, custodian, and liquidity bridge for the service.
USDB Stablecoin: USDB is a closed-loop stablecoin issued by Bridge, used exclusively among specific platforms and partners, and not available for public purchase.
Security: The value of USDB is backed by equivalent U.S. dollar cash and short-term money market funds held by BlackRock, ensuring its stability and safety.
Partnership with Visa: Bridge has partnered with Visa to launch the world’s first stablecoin-enabled Visa card, enabling global businesses to pay with stablecoins worldwide.
Impact on the Crypto Industry
Stripe’s launch of stablecoin financial accounts will have far-reaching and positive ripple effects on the crypto industry, especially in the following five areas:
- The “Commercial and Compliant Return” of Stablecoins
Previously, stablecoins like USDT and USDC primarily circulated through centralized exchanges or DeFi protocols, lacking large-scale real-world use cases.
Stripe now introduces enterprise accounts that integrate USDC and USDB into traditional contexts like cross-border payments, payroll, and supply chain settlements — creating a real-world application foothold.
This means stablecoins are shifting from speculative exchange tools to global U.S. dollar substitutes.
Especially in high-inflation countries, businesses will be motivated to adopt USDC for asset preservation — driving up stablecoin market caps and pressuring other fintech platforms to follow suit.
- Opening the Era of Compliant Stablecoin Wallets
The account system built by Bridge is fundamentally different from most existing non-custodial wallets.
It offers an enterprise wallet model based on “custody + compliance + API + identity binding”:
Every account is KYC-bound and tied to corporate identity;
All fund movements are monitored;
Accounts are capable of smart settlement and fiat compatibility.
This could give rise to a new breed of compliant stablecoin wallets, allowing traditional businesses to hold and use crypto assets safely and conveniently — without needing to understand blockchain tech.
- Raising the Ceiling for DeFi and Unregulated Stablecoins
Stripe and Bridge are launching a compliant, closed-loop stablecoin (USDB) — a model that could become the future regulatory reference for global stablecoins.
If Stripe rapidly scales this offering, its compliance standards may be adopted by regulators in more countries, setting a precedent.
Meanwhile, stablecoin projects that lack regulatory anchors or refuse transparent audits may see their development space further squeezed, pushing the industry into a new phase of “good money driving out bad.”
- Accelerating On-Chain and Off-Chain Integration Technology Upgrades
The Stripe/Bridge model exemplifies a hybrid financial architecture that merges on-chain transparency with off-chain efficiency.
This breaks the binary dilemma of “either fully on-chain but inefficient” or “fully off-chain but opaque.”
This hybrid approach could become the blueprint for future crypto infrastructure, balancing regulation, performance, and UX.
It will directly influence the direction of technologies like ZK-Rollups, Layer 2s, and payment channels (e.g., Lightning) — pushing them to focus more on practical deployment.
- Driving Further Integration Between Web2 Giants and Web3 Infrastructure
Stripe’s move is likely to usher in massive Web2-grade traffic and infrastructure migration into crypto.
For example, Shopify merchants may soon use Stripe’s stablecoin accounts as settlement accounts, without needing to integrate with MetaMask or complex DeFi wallets.
This also offers “municipal-grade” adoption channels for compliant stablecoins like USDC, enabling deeper Web3-Web2 fusion — well beyond trading platforms, NFTs, or meme coins.
Impact on Global Businesses
Stripe’s stablecoin account service offers multiple advantages to global businesses, especially small and mid-sized enterprises:
Inflation protection: In high-inflation economies, businesses can preserve asset value by holding USD-pegged stablecoins.
Simplified cross-border payments: Stablecoin usage reduces the cost and complexity of traditional cross-border transactions and improves capital efficiency.
Financial inclusion: In underbanked regions, businesses can use stablecoin accounts to access the global financial system, supporting growth.
Multi-currency management: Stripe also plans to launch multi-currency account support, allowing businesses to hold and manage USD, EUR, GBP, etc., simplifying global operations.
Conclusion
The stablecoin account service built by Stripe via Bridge marks a milestone event in the convergence of global fintech and the crypto industry.
Bridge is not only a technology provider but also a compliance coordinator, risk control hub, and settlement engine for stablecoin integration.
This rollout will not only encourage wider adoption of stablecoins among global businesses, but also accelerate the fusion of the crypto world with traditional finance — becoming a key driver in the next phase of stablecoin growth.
