This week has been focused on bringing crypto to the consumers. Here's what was announced:
Stripe acquires Privy
Privy makes crypto easy. The easiest way to describe what they've done: they've enabled emails to be your wallets, so a user no longer needs to worry about setting up a new wallet, dealing with private seed phrases, or risking losing all assets. Emails = Wallets = Self-Hosted Banks for Users.
Stripe's acquisition of Privy marks a new beginning to onboard brand new users onto crypto by allowing them to transact with crypto by simply using their emails.
Stripe acquires Bridge
Earlier this year, Stripe also acquired Bridge. Bridge allows users to "bridge" dollars into crypto on the blockchain in a few easy steps, and similarly allows users to bridge their crypto into dollars. Users can direct a portion of their paycheck to a virtual bank account — then crypto apps can auto-convert dollars into crypto and help you earn yield via USDC or similar tokens. All without ever directly dealing with blockchain.
Shopify + Coinbase + Stripe + USDC Payments
Shopify announced they will be allowing checkouts using USDC on Coinbase's Base Network via Stripe. This integration allows customers to pay in USDC, making global e-commerce smoother for both vendors and customers. USDC allows payments to settle in seconds to minutes rather than multiple days.
Coinbase + AMEX credit card
Coinbase announced their Coinbase One credit card — an American Express credit card with competitive rewards in the form of cash back in BTC, up to 4% reward tier.