Web3 payment platform Bridge, co-founded by former Square and Coinbase employees Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, has raised $58 million in funding, including an unseen $40 million investment led by Sequoia and Ribbit. The company aims to establish a global payment network based on stablecoins and has already secured several strategic partnerships.
Funding and Partnerships
Bridge has raised a total of $58 million in funding, including a previously unannounced $40 million investment by Sequoia and Ribbit. With the funds, the company plans to expand its services and bring stablecoin solutions to a wider audience. Bridge has already forged a partnership with Bitso to enable business-to-business cross-border payments in Latin America using stablecoins.
Bridge's Services and Technology
Bridge’s platform offers two core services: Orchestration and Issuance. The Orchestration service provides APIs which allow users to easily convert between different dollar formats, such as USD, EUR, USDC, PYUSD, and USDT. This service ensures seamless cross-border payments and foreign currency exchanges with low fees and instant settlements. Translated Quote: *“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 enables developers to convert any of these dollar formats into a customized stablecoin, giving businesses the flexibility to offer digital dollar-based services tailored to their specific needs.
Advantages and Challenges of Stablecoins
Stablecoins, such as USDT and USDC, have reached market caps of $118 billion and $34.6 billion respectively in recent years. They 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. Despite their benefits, stablecoins have faced challenges, particularly around their stability and transparency. For example, the collapse of TerraUSD in 2022 raised widespread concerns about the reliability of stablecoins. Similarly, USDC temporarily lost its peg to the dollar in 2023 due to worries over its reserves. However, the Bridge team believes their fintech background gives them a unique edge in navigating these challenges. The company aims to build a stablecoin platform that is reliable and accessible to a broad range of businesses.
The $58 million in funding will allow Bridge to significantly expand its market presence and offer stablecoin solutions on a larger scale. By utilizing the company’s platform, various businesses can integrate stablecoins into their operations, resulting in a more efficient and cost-effective payment system.
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