Interesting news has emerged in the payment industry. Stripe has been valued at an incredible $159 billion through employee stock purchases. This is nearly a 50% increase compared to last year's $106.7 billion.

What’s more noteworthy is the scale of Stripe’s payment business. This year, total payment volume is expected to reach $1.9 trillion, a 34% growth from the previous year. Co-founder and CEO John Collison explicitly stated that there are no plans for an IPO at this time.

Personally, what stands out more is their active expansion into the cryptocurrency space. They acquired a stablecoin orchestration platform called Bridge, took over a crypto wallet company like Privy, and even launched their own blockchain, Tempo. This isn’t just a simple attempt; it appears to be a clear strategic shift.

Among Stripe’s payment services, the growth of the stablecoin payment market is particularly striking. Last year, it doubled to approximately $400 billion, with 60% of transactions being B2B. The transaction volume of Bridge alone increased more than fourfold during the same period. If this trend continues, it could potentially reshape the entire payment industry.