Bridge

Bridge is a stablecoin infrastructure platform—now a Stripe subsidiary following a $1.1 billion acquisition—that provides a composable API suite for moving, storing, issuing, and accepting stablecoins across 14+ blockchains, with Solana as a core supported network.

What Bridge Does

Bridge abstracts the complexity of stablecoin settlement into a single developer API. Businesses that integrate Bridge can accept payments in USDC, USDT, or other stablecoins, convert between fiat currencies and digital assets, and settle funds to local bank accounts worldwide—all through one integration. The platform operates 24/7, covers virtually every country, and charges approximately 10 basis points (0.10%) plus network fees per transaction, compared to the 2–3% cost of traditional cross-border rails.

The platform's core pitch is replacing correspondent banking and SWIFT with stablecoin settlement: a contractor in Argentina can be paid in USDC from a U.S. business wallet, convert to ARS at the local rate, and receive funds in their bank account in minutes rather than days.

Core Products

Orchestration is Bridge's foundational API layer. It handles on-ramps (fiat to stablecoin), off-ramps (stablecoin to fiat), and crypto-to-crypto transfers across supported networks. Developers use it to fund wallets, initiate payouts, and route liquidity between currencies without managing chain-level complexity.

Virtual Accounts give businesses instantly-issued deposit accounts with local banking details in USD, EUR, and MXN. Customers can deposit via ACH, SEPA, or wire and receive stablecoin equivalents; the same accounts support payouts in local currency from stablecoin reserves.

Open Issuance allows any business to launch a branded stablecoin on 14+ blockchains simultaneously. Issuers choose between open-loop tokens (publicly tradable, DeFi-compatible) and closed-loop tokens (permissioned, for specific ecosystems). All deployed tokens share a single reserve pool ensuring 1:1 backing across chains. Reserves are held in a combination of cash and U.S. Treasuries, with issuers configuring the allocation split.

Cards connects Bridge's stablecoin balances to Visa-network card issuance via Stripe Issuing. Fintechs and crypto platforms can provision physical or virtual cards that spend directly from stablecoin holdings, with real-time conversion at point of sale.

Wallets provides custodial infrastructure for applications that need to hold stablecoin balances on behalf of users, with built-in KYC/KYB flows and compliance tooling.

Tokens and Assets

Bridge supports USDC, USDT, PYUSD, and any stablecoin that clients bring through its Orchestration APIs. Through Open Issuance, businesses can deploy custom stablecoins under their own brand. Bridge also operates USDB, its own reward-bearing stablecoin backed by U.S. Treasuries, generating 3–4% yield on reserves—allowing businesses that hold USDB to earn on idle balances.

Solana Ecosystem Fit

Solana is one of the primary chains in Bridge's network. The combination of sub-five-second finality and sub-cent transaction costs makes Solana an efficient settlement layer for high-frequency stablecoin payments. When a user initiates a USDC transfer on Solana through Stripe's stablecoin payment acceptance product (powered by Bridge), the merchant receives credit in under five seconds once required confirmations clear.

The most prominent Solana integration is Phantom's CASH stablecoin. Phantom—Solana's leading self-custody wallet with over 15 million users—became the first business to deploy a stablecoin on Bridge's Open Issuance platform, launching CASH in late 2025 in partnership with Stripe and Bridge. CASH is a 1:1 USD-backed open-loop stablecoin on Solana, paired with a native on-ramp, a branded Visa spending card, and virtual accounts. Phantom users can use CASH for payments anywhere Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Visa is accepted, and send funds globally with stablecoin settlement running underneath.

Bridge also lists Phantom among its notable customers alongside Shopify, Klarna, MetaMask, Chipper Cash, and Bitso, reflecting its position as core infrastructure across both crypto-native and traditional fintech applications.

Team and Funding

Bridge was co-founded in 2022 by Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, both veterans of fintech and crypto. The two previously co-founded Evenly, a bill-splitting app acquired by Block (then Square) in 2013. Abrams subsequently led consumer products at Coinbase and Brex; Yu became an early engineer at DoorDash before joining Airbnb. The pair founded Bridge with the intent of building a new global payment network around stablecoins.

Before the Stripe acquisition, Bridge raised $58 million across funding rounds from Sequoia (which led the Series A), Ribbit Capital, Index Ventures, and Haun Ventures. Sequoia's investment memo cited Bridge's "regulated, composable" approach as differentiated from unregulated stablecoin alternatives.

Stripe announced the acquisition in October 2024 for $1.1 billion—the largest deal in Stripe's history. The acquisition closed on February 4, 2025. Bridge now operates as a Stripe subsidiary, with co-founder Zach Abrams noting that the combined entity is "scaling digital dollars for businesses everywhere." Bridge's API infrastructure now underpins two key Stripe features: the stablecoin payment acceptance flow and the Stripe Issuing + Connect rails that let platforms hold balances in USDC and pay out to bank accounts in local currency.

Regulatory Status

Bridge holds money transmission licenses through Bridge Building Inc (NMLS #2450917) for U.S. residents, covering required state-by-state licensing. In Europe, Bridge operates through Bridge Building S.A., a Luxembourg-registered entity, which secured MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) and EMI (Electronic Money Institution) authorizations covering all 27 EU member states. The dual-jurisdiction regulatory framework positions Bridge to serve enterprise customers with strict compliance requirements—among them the U.S. State Department and U.S. Treasury.

By the time of the Stripe acquisition in early 2025, Bridge had processed over $5 billion in annualized payment volume, serving customers ranging from DeFi protocols and consumer wallets to aid organizations and multinational contractors.