Stripe: Stablecoins are one of the most innovative areas of the “Internet economy”

Payments company Stripe, which is on track to handle $1.4 trillion in total transactions in 2024, said in its annual letter released Thursday that stablecoins are one of the most innovative areas of the “internet economy.” Stripe acquired stablecoin startup Bridge for $1.1 billion in October. In its annual letter, co-founders Patrick and John Collison noted that stablecoins represent an “improvement” in the “basic usability of money,” just as paper money is an improvement over coins. “Compared to the status quo, stablecoins have four important properties,” the Stripe founder wrote. “They make money cheaper to move, they make money move faster, they are decentralized and open (so they can be used globally from day one), and they are programmable.”