Bridge, a global stablecoin payment network co-founded by former Square and Coinbase executives Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, has reportedly raised $58 million in funding.
Bridge, which aims to develop a global payment network around stablecoins and rival traditional payment systems like Swift and credit cards, received funding from Sequoia, Ribbit and Index, among other investors.
According to a Fortune report, Bridge secured $58 million in previous undisclosed funding, which includes a recent $40 million investment by Sequoia and Ribbit. Bridge’s current customer base comprises Coinbase and SpaceX. Explaining the strategy in an interview with Fortune, Abrams said:
“Fintech is deeply rational. If you can do something that is faster, cheaper, and more economical, you win.”
Elon Musk’s SpaceX uses Bridge for payments
According to the Fortune report, Bridge has high-profile clients like Elon Musk’s SpaceX. SpaceX utilizes its services to collect payments in various currencies across different regions and transfer them through stablecoins into its global treasury.
Related: Anchorage Digital adds PayPal stablecoin yield to custody platform
Bridge also collaborates with cryptocurrency firms, including the Stellar blockchain and the Bitcoin app Strike, to supply the infrastructure for their stablecoin payment functionalities.
Stablecoin market continues to grow despite historical setbacks
The total stablecoin market capitalization is currently at roughly $177.24 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap. As shown in the chart below, the two leading stablecoins — Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) — dominate the market with $118.22 billion and $34.6 billion in market capitalization, respectively.
Top stablecoin tokens listed by market capitalization with the largest first. Source: CoinMarketCap
The stablecoin market had a major setback in 2022 when the TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin lost its peg to the United States dollar, triggering a catastrophic collapse that wiped out billions of dollars in value.
The event not only led to a loss of investor confidence but also attracted intense scrutiny from regulators, culminating in a lawsuit from the US Securities and Exchange Commission in February 2023.
Despite setbacks, the stablecoin market remains an attractive alternative investment tool. Traditional finance company PayPal has introduced PayPal USD (PYUSD), which is backed 1:1 by US dollars and issued by Paxos Trust Company, a US-regulated crypto custodian. It competes with other regulated, dollar-backed stablecoins such as USDC. PYUSD recently surpassed $1 billion in total market capitalization.
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