Bridge, a global stablecoin payment network, co-founded by former Square and Coinbase executives Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, reportedly raised $58 million in funding.
Bridge, which aims to develop a global payment network around stablecoins and rival traditional payment systems like Swift and credit cards, received funding from Sequoia, Ribbit and Index, among other investors.
According to a Fortune report, Bridge secured $58 million in previous undisclosed funding, which includes a recent $40 million investment by Sequoia and Ribbit. Bridge’s current customer base comprises Coinbase and SpaceX. Explaining the strategy, in an interview with Fortune, Abrams said:
“Fintech is deeply rational. If you can do something that is faster, cheaper, and more economical, you win.”
Elon Musk’s SpaceX uses Bridge for payments
According to the Fortune report, Bridge has high-profile clients such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX. SpaceX utilizes its services to collect payments in various currencies across different regions and transfer them through stablecoins into its global treasury.
Bridge also collaborates with cryptocurrency firms, including the Stellar blockchain and the Bitcoin app Strike, to supply the infrastructure for their stablecoin payment functionalities.
Stablecoin market continues to grow despite historical setbacks
The total stablecoin market capitalization is currently at about $177.24 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap. As shown in the chart below, the two leading stablecoins – Tether’s USDT and USDC – dominate with $118.22 billion and $34.6 billion market capitalization, respectively.
The stablecoin market witnessed a major setback in 2022 when TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin lost its peg to the United States dollar, triggering a catastrophic collapse that wiped out billions of dollars in value.
The event not only led to a loss of investor confidence but also attracted intense scrutiny from regulators, culminating in a lawsuit from the US Securities and Exchange Commission in February 2023.
Despite setbacks, the stablecoins market remains an attractive alternative investment tool. Traditional finance company PayPal introduced PayPal USD (PYUSD) which is backed 1:1 by US dollars and is issued by Paxos Trust Company, a US-regulated crypto custodian. It competes with other regulated, dollar-backed stablecoins such as Circle Internet Financial’s USD Coin (USDC). PayPal USD recently surpassed $1 billion in total market capitalization.
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