Skip to content
- Stripe’s $159B valuation fuels fresh PayPal takeover speculation
- PayPal stock jumps as acquisition talks capture market attention
- Stablecoin expansion sharpens rivalry between fintech payment giants
Stripe’s $159 billion valuation has intensified speculation over a potential acquisition of PayPal. According to the Bloomberg report, Stripe has shown initial interest in acquiring the full or a portion of the digital payments company. The report used anonymous sources who were well conversant with the issue. Stripe did not respond to the discussions that were reported.
The reported interest was announced at the time that a substantial tender offer was confirmed by Stripe. The firm entered into contracts with investors to avail funds to existing and retired employees. The funding will be contributed by Thrive Capital, Coatue, and a16z, the majority. Part of the capital of Stripe also is to be used in repurchasing shares. The purchase is worth $159 billion to Stripe.
Also Read: Canaan Acquires 49% of Texas Bitcoin Projects in $39.75 Power Deal With Cipher!
Market Reaction and Valuation Focus
The stock of PayPal responded to the takeover reports earlier this week. The stocks increased on the beginning of the reports that the company had become attractive. This stock went up once more after Bloomberg reported it. The PayPal shares are, however, down in close to 40 percent in the last year.
The new focus brings to the fore increased pressures of consolidation in the domain of digital payments. The two firms have extensive merchant networks and rival in the online checkout services. The possible agreement would merge two large fintech giants in the world.
Stablecoin Strategy Moves Into Spotlight
The reported interest is witnessed as both companies continue to entangle themselves into digital assets. Stripe has acquired a stablecoin platform Bridge last year. Later the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency conditionally authorized Bridge to seek a national bank charter. Such a license placed Stripe under a more organized regulatory structure.
PayPal also increased its crypto presence in 2023 by creating its PYUSD stablecoin in collaboration with Paxos. The OCC granted Paxos a federal banking charter in December. By that moment, Paxos claimed that PYUSD was the biggest dollar stablecoin that had been released to date with a $3.8 billion market capitalization.
Also, PayPal stated that it will increase peer to peer payment service. The firm will incorporate bitcoin, ether, and stablecoin transactions as part of the services. About 85 percent of PayPal survey respondents indicated that they think cryptocurrency payments will be regular within 5 years. Neither of the companies has stated that there are negotiations or that some transaction is to be implemented.
Also Read: Ripple SBI Taps XRPL for Japan-Korea Payment Breakthrough Study, Cross-Border Bid
