Web3 payment platform Bridge, co-founded by former Square and Coinbase employees Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, successfully raised $58 million in funding, according to an Aug. 29 Fortune report. The firm aims to build a global payment network centered around stablecoins, challenging traditional payment systems like SWIFT and credit cards.
Development of Bridge Platform
Bridge has been in development for 2.5 years and is now ready to present the results of its work. The founders conducted an interview with Leo Schwartz to share their story and detailed their goals and objectives.
Core Services of Bridge
Bridge's platform offers two core services: Orchestration and Issuance. The Orchestration service provides APIs that allow users to easily convert between different dollar formats such as USD, EUR, USDC, PYUSD, and USDT, ensuring seamless cross-border payments and currency exchanges with low fees and instant settlements. > *“We built Bridge as a low-level set of APIs that would enable companies to use a stablecoin rail without thinking about it,” Abrams said.* The Issuance service allows developers to convert any of these dollar formats into customized stablecoins, enabling businesses to offer digital dollar-based services tailored to their specific needs.
Challenges and Advantages of Stablecoins
Stablecoin market leaders like USDT and USDC have reached market caps of $118 billion and $34.6 billion, respectively. Stablecoins offer several advantages over traditional fiat currencies, including lower transaction fees and faster settlement times. Unlike fiat transactions, which are often subject to bank operating hours and high fees for cross-border payments, stablecoins enable instant, low-cost transfers that can be conducted 24/7. However, stablecoins face challenges, particularly around their stability and transparency. The collapse of TerraUSD in 2022 led to widespread concerns about the reliability of stablecoins, and USDC temporarily lost its peg in 2023 due to concerns over its reserves. Tether, the market leader, has also faced scrutiny over its accounting practices, raising questions about the transparency of its reserves. Bridge's founders believe that their fintech background gives them a unique edge in navigating these challenges. The Bridge team aims to build a stablecoin platform that is reliable and accessible to a broad range of businesses, including crypto startups and traditional fiat companies.
Bridge, having raised $58 million, plans to use these funds to expand its services and bring stablecoin solutions to a wider audience. The collaboration with Bitso to enable cross-border payments in Latin America is just one step in developing a global payment network.
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