Payment processing company Stripe has expanded its integration into the cryptocurrency market by bringing its services to the European Union (EU), allowing customers to purchase bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies using credit and debit cards. It should be noted that – as explained in local media – the expansion is initially aimed at sellers and businesses that operate within the cryptocurrency market in the region. They are offered Stripe's new support for stablecoin payments which facilitate the conversion and settlement of transactions. In this way, the option of buying not only bitcoin but also cryptocurrencies is enabled such as ether (ETH) and solana (SOL).
Online sellers can add a cryptocurrency purchase widget to their websites, through which payments will be handled, although know-your-customer (KYC) rules related to trading crypto assets apply. Notably, Stripe, based in the United States and Ireland, has a large customer base made up of e-commerce businesses. The payments company has been expanding aggressively and is now operates in more than 100 countries and territories around the world. In its latest financial report, the company reported having processed more than $1 trillion in payment transactions. The figure marked a 25% increase from previous years. Stripe's arrival in the European digital asset market comes at a time when the region is becoming a world leader in the adoption of cryptocurrencies. As BitcoinDynamic reported, a recent report shows Europe's dominance in global cryptocurrency tradingaccounting for 37.3% of the value of global transactions. The report forecasts that the volume of cryptocurrency trading in Europe will increase 2.7 times to reach $40.5 trillion this year. All this in the context of the entry into force of the first phase of the Regulation for the Market in Cryptocurrencies (MiCA), focusing on stablecoins.