cryptoknowmics.com
Stripe, the payment processing giant is looking to hire four engineers to form its new crypto-focused team. The engineering team will “lay the foundation to support and inform Stripe’s crypto strategy,” and will affect everything from Stripe’s user interface to its backend operations and even its payment and identity systems.
Stripe Is Hiring a New Crypto Team
“We hear a growing need from developers and users in that space for better building blocks to accept payments, move funds, exchange between fiat and crypto, etc. By focusing on these problems and needs, we aim to build faster, more trustworthy, and higher quality crypto-enabled experiences,” the listing reads.
Stripe Co-founder John Collison commented on Poncin’s post by stating that “Stripe and crypto have grown up at the same time,” and said that the firm decided to take the plunge into crypto after observing “exciting” developments in the space:
“We started writing code the year after the Bitcoin paper dropped. We’ve always kept an eye on things (e.g. Bitcoin support 2013-2015) but last few years’ developments (L2s, new chains, stablecoins, DeFi) are particularly exciting.”
Stripe Accepted Bitcoin Payments in 2014
In 2014, Stripe started accepting Bitcoin (BTC) but withdrew support four years later due to its slow transaction times and rising fees. In a blog post from Jan. 23, 2018, Stripe stated that it may return to crypto once the payment options are “viable,” pointing to the development of the Lightning Network and “high-potential” projects emerging on the Ethereum blockchain.
The payments company was founded in 2011 and has a current valuation of around $100 billion. In March 2021, Stripe raised $600 million in a funding round at a valuation of $95 billion, more than doubling its previous valuation of $35 billion from 2019. Data indicates that there are currently 784,256 active websites using Stripe’s payments platform.