It’s been a busy week in crypto, from payments processor Stripe’s acquisition of stablecoin platform Bridge to Ripple’s co-founder donating $10 million in XRP to Kamala Harris’ US election campaign to the Pennsylvania House passing a bipartisan Bitcoin bill.
Let’s take a closer look at these and give you a recap on what happened this week in crypto.
Stripe acquires stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion
Payment processor Stripe completed its acquisition of Bridge, a stablecoin platform, in a deal valued at $1.1 billion.
The deal, which is the biggest for Stripe, and was valued at $70 billion in July, comes after John Collision, Stripe’s co-founder, announced in April that the company would “start supporting global stablecoin payments this summer.”
This deal is done. $1.1b https://t.co/J7ppK4uHw0
— Michael Arrington 🏴☠️ (@arrington) October 20, 2024
It also follows after the payment processor teamed up with Paxos to launch a stablecoin payments platform. The collaboration aims to simplify how businesses accept stablecoin payments, offering a more efficient and cost-effective alternative to traditional payment methods.
Ripple’s Chris Larsen donates $10 million in XRP to Kamala Harris
Chris Larsen, Ripple’s co-founder, has become the crypto industry’s largest donor in the 2024 US election. Earlier this week, Larsen donated $10 million in XRP to Vice President Kamala Harris’ US election campaign.
Larsen donated $9.9 million to the pro-Harris Future Forward political action committee (PAC) and $800,000 to the Harris Victory Fund.
This latest amount follows a $1 million donation in XRP Larsen made to Harris in August. Speaking about his latest donation, Larsen said on X: “It’s time for the Democrats to have a new approach to tech innovation, including crypto.”
It’s time for the Democrats to have a new approach to tech innovation, including crypto. I believe @KamalaHarris will ensure that American technology dominates the world, which is why I’m donating $10M in XRP in support of her. https://t.co/vb9KJA87JK
— Chris Larsen (@chrislarsensf) October 21, 2024
The crypto industry has donated around $190 million in political donations so far in the 2024 US election cycle. This is a significant rise compared to the 2020 election when $15 million was donated. Of the $190 million, over $130 million…