Fintech Behemoth Stripe Reportedly Explores Possible Acquisition Of PayPal — What A Mega Deal Could Mean for Crypto ⋆ ZyCrypto

Stripe, which has been steadily expanding its crypto initiatives, is reportedly exploring the acquisition of all or part of PayPal, according to a Tuesday report from Bloomberg.

If finalized, the deal would bring together two of the most active traditional payments players in crypto and stablecoin infrastructure under a single umbrella.

Stripe Weighing PayPal Acquisition

Stripe has “expressed preliminary interest in a potential acquisition of the digital payments pioneer or its assets,” the Bloomberg report said, citing anonymous people familiar with the matter.

The report indicates that talks are still in the preliminary phase, with the proposal remaining exploratory and no official offer having been submitted.

PayPal has struggled in recent years, facing stiff competition from Google Pay and Apple Pay, both of which come pre-installed on consumer smartphones, with its stock dropping roughly 80% from historic highs reached in 2021. Shares surged on Monday amid initial buyout reports, then climbed another 6% late Tuesday following the Stripe report.

PayPal and Stripe Make Bold Moves in Stablecoin Space

Both PayPal and Stripe have shown strong interest in crypto, particularly stablecoins. Last year, Stripe acquired the stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion, a company that received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to eventually become a federally chartered national bank.

Stripe is also working with venture firm Paradigm to develop Tempo, a custom-built blockchain designed to facilitate stablecoin settlements and programmable payments directly within its core payments infrastructure.

Meanwhile, PayPal launched its own U.S. dollar stablecoin, PYUSD, in 2023 through a partnership with Paxos. Since then, the token’s market value has risen to about $4 billion. It enables users to transfer dollars across crypto networks around the clock, often at lower costs than traditional bank wires.

But unlike PayPal, which faces public market scrutiny and quarterly earnings pressure, Stripe remains privately held. This structure gives Stripe more freedom to make long-term crypto infrastructure investments without the constraints of immediate shareholder expectations.