There are rumors that payment giant Stripe will enter L1. What new applications are worth looking forward to?

Author: 100y.eth

Compiled by: Shenchao TechFlow

Key points:

Rumors are circulating in the crypto community that Stripe may launch its own Layer 1 blockchain network. Given its recent acquisitions of Bridge and Privy, launching its own blockchain could be a logical next step.

Stripe, as a leading global payment service provider (PSP), connects merchants, acquiring institutions, card networks, and issuing banks on a technical level to ensure smooth and secure transactions.

If Stripe really launches L1, it is expected to support stablecoin payments as well as Stripe L1 integration for customer payments and merchant settlements in basic scenarios; in optimistic cases, it could completely revolutionize the payment system through the following features:

Enable direct payments that bypass issuing institutions and networks.

Support micro-flow subscription services that cannot be realized in traditional systems;

Generate income using the short-term deposit balance on Stripe L1.

Stripe currently primarily operates as a payment gateway and acquirer, but if it launches Stripe L1, it will be able to assume roles traditionally handled by issuing banks and card networks, marking an important milestone in the history of the payments industry.

Will Stripe really launch its own blockchain network?

Recently, the crypto community has been buzzing with rumors that global payment infrastructure company @Stripe may be preparing to launch a Layer 1 blockchain (L1). Another rumor is related to Paradigm's recent secret hiring initiative, which some speculate is linked to Stripe's L1 blockchain plans.

Although no one knows for sure whether Stripe will launch L1 except for insiders, the recent surge in interest from the traditional U.S. financial sector in the blockchain and stablecoin industry, along with the increasing blockchain integration efforts by card network companies like Visa and Mastercard, and Robinhood's announcement of plans to tokenize stocks via Arbitrum, have all contributed to the rumors surrounding Stripe's potential L1 launch quickly capturing the community's attention.

Stripe's mission is to "accelerate the GDP of the internet." The company focuses on building the economic infrastructure of the internet to help businesses of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises, manage payments, operations, and growth online. From this perspective, blockchain technology is highly attractive to Stripe.

In fact, Stripe has been actively expanding its blockchain-related business in recent years. In February 2025, Stripe acquired the stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge (@Stablecoin) for approximately $1.1 billion, strategically consolidating its position in the stablecoin-based financial infrastructure. Based on this, Stripe launched its Stablecoin Financial Accounts service at the Stripe Sessions event in May 2025.

Stripe's stablecoin financial account services are now available in 101 countries worldwide, providing businesses with the following features:

Hold USDC issued by Circle and USDB issued by Bridge;

Transfer USD via ACH/wire transfer and EUR via SEPA to enable the deposit and withdrawal of stablecoins;

Supports the storage and access of USDC across multiple blockchain networks, including Arbitrum, Avalanche C-Chain, Base, Ethereum, Optimism, Polygon, Solana, and Stellar.

This means that businesses in 101 countries can easily access dollar-based stablecoins through Stripe and seamlessly integrate with the traditional banking system, enabling convenient dollar deposits, withdrawals, and payment functions.

In addition, in June 2025, Stripe acquired the Web3 wallet infrastructure startup @privy_io. The company offers a range of features, including wallet creation via email or single sign-on (SSO), transaction signing, key management, and Gas abstraction services.

Combined with these actions, the rumors of Stripe potentially launching a Layer 1 blockchain do not seem to be unfounded. In other words, Stripe currently has stablecoin infrastructure and wallet infrastructure, and launching a blockchain network that can create synergies with these resources may be a natural next step in its blockchain business expansion.

What possibilities would arise if Stripe launched a Layer 1 blockchain?

Of course, there is currently no concrete evidence that Stripe will launch L1; this is merely a rumor. However, we can boldly speculate on how Stripe's potential L1 might be used and what services it could provide that traditional payment systems cannot. The ideas listed below are entirely my personal conjectures, and everyone can view them lightly, treating them as thoughts like "Oh, so this is another way blockchain can be used in payment services."

2.1 The Role of Stripe as a Payment Service Provider (PSP)

To understand how blockchain can improve certain aspects, we first need to understand the types of services provided by Stripe. As one of the world's most well-known payment service providers (PSP), Stripe acts as a technical bridge between merchants, acquirers, card networks, and issuing banks, ensuring a smooth and secure payment process. Specifically, Stripe takes on the following roles:

Payment Gateway: When customers pay online or offline using a credit card, Stripe securely collects card information, encrypts it, and transmits it to the card networks and issuing banks.

Multiple payment methods supported: Integrates various payment options, including credit cards, digital wallets, bank transfers, and local payment methods, providing convenience for customers and merchants.

Fraud Detection and Security Assurance: Prevent fraudulent transactions through a machine learning-based fraud detection system and PCI-DSS compliant security measures.

Multi-currency and international payment support: Provides automatic currency conversion services, supports multi-currency transactions, and facilitates international sales.

Reports and Analysis: Provide merchants with detailed transaction history, success rates, and customer behavior analysis to help optimize business operations.

Technical integration and operational support: Helping businesses easily build payment systems through APIs and SDKs, while handling customer support, regulatory compliance, refunds, and billing management.

Enhance customer experience: Provide a fast and smooth payment process, while supporting various scenarios such as subscription billing, installment payments, and refunds.

Merchant Settlement Intermediary: The PSP collaborates with acquiring institutions or acts directly as an acquiring institution to settle the funds received from the issuing bank to the merchant.

Without the existence of PSP, merchants would have to support various payment methods on their own and directly sign complex contracts with acquiring institutions. This would not only increase the technical and operational burden on merchants but also significantly reduce the payment experience for both merchants and customers.

2.2 What changes will Stripe L1 bring?

If Stripe were to launch a Layer 1 blockchain (L1), how could it optimize existing services and create new functionalities? Here are some ideas:

2.2.1 Basic Scenarios

Integration of merchant stablecoin financial accounts with Stripe L1

Currently, Stripe provides stablecoin financial account services for merchants in 101 countries, enabling them to hold USDC and USDB stablecoins and transact through traditional banking systems (such as ACH, SEPA) as well as multiple blockchain networks.

If Stripe L1 is launched, it is expected that the stablecoin financial account services will also support deposits and withdrawals through Stripe L1. In addition, merchants can use their stablecoin balance on Stripe L1 to participate in various financial activities.

Merchant's stablecoin settlement options

As a payment service provider (PSP), Stripe typically collaborates with acquiring institutions or acts directly as an acquiring institution to process merchants' sales revenue settlements. If Stripe L1 goes live, merchants may be able to choose to settle in USD-based stablecoins. This would be a huge benefit for merchants who have high demand for USD but limited access channels.

Customer Wallet Service

Stripe previously acquired the company Privy, which provides wallet infrastructure that enables users to easily create and use wallets. Although Stripe primarily serves merchants and businesses and has not yet provided wallet services for individual users, if Stripe L1 leverages Privy's technology, it could support individual users in easily creating Web3 wallets on Stripe L1, making payments with stablecoins, and participating in various financial activities within the Stripe L1 ecosystem.

Stablecoin payment options for customers

Currently, customers are limited to using bank cards, bank accounts, and other traditional payment methods when making online payments through Stripe. If Stripe L1 goes live, it may allow users to connect Web3 wallets (possibly provided by Stripe or third parties) and choose stablecoins as a payment method.

2.2.2 Bull Market Case

Direct payment between customers and merchants

Traditional payment systems (such as credit cards or bank accounts) rely on traditional financial networks, such as card networks and banks. However, if Stripe L1 allows customers to pay merchants directly with stablecoins, it could eliminate the involvement of issuing banks and card networks, significantly increasing settlement speed and reducing costs. Of course, since payment settlements on the blockchain are difficult to reverse or refund, appropriate safeguards need to be put in place to ensure transaction security.

Subscription service based on micropayments

Blockchain can support micropayments and streaming subscription models that traditional systems cannot achieve. Currently, subscriptions made through Stripe mostly adopt a monthly or yearly renewal model, while Stripe L1 has the potential to enable subscription services billed by the minute. Users will pay fees based on actual usage, and all payments can be automatically completed through smart contracts. This entirely new subscription model will provide development space for various services built on this system.

DeFi applications for short-term deposits

One reason for the settlement delays in the current payment system is to prepare for issues such as fraud, cancellations, or refunds. Therefore, even though Stripe L1 allows customers to pay merchants directly with stablecoins, these funds may be temporarily held in Stripe L1 instead of being released to the merchants immediately.

These short-term deposits are expected to be very large in scale and can become a massive liquidity pool for Stripe L1. For example, these funds can be supplied as liquidity to DeFi protocols for the lending market, or invested in bonds to earn interest, thereby significantly improving capital efficiency.

Summary of thoughts

After conducting long-term research on stablecoins and observing the development of the industry and ecosystem, the rumors about Stripe's L1 are indeed intriguing. So far, payment companies like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal have only regarded blockchain and stablecoins as additional features. If Stripe really launches its own Layer 1 blockchain (L1), it could mark a historic moment in the field of payment systems, signaling the beginning of a paradigm shift.

Stripe has always played the role of a payment gateway or acquirer, but the introduction of Stripe L1 may allow it to simultaneously take on the functions of card networks and issuing banks. Additionally, with the help of blockchain technology, it can significantly enhance payment efficiency and enable functionalities that were previously unattainable, such as automated management of micro-payment subscription services and short-term deposits.

We are currently in an era of innovation in payment systems driven by blockchain. Whether Stripe will truly launch L1 as rumored remains to be seen.