Stripe's New Partnership Will Allow Instant Dollar-to-Bitcoin Conversions for Businesses

Now Stripe customers can convert payments into Bitcoin via OpenNode.

An early adopter of Bitcoin, Stripe ended its support of cryptocurrency in 2018 due to low customer interest, high fees, and slow transactions. Four years later, its new partnership with OpenNode sees Stripe's stepping back into cryptocurrency and digital finance.

OpenNode, a secure Bitcoin processing infrastructure, offers businesses low-cost Bitcoin payments and payouts and aims to make payments faster and more affordable. The partnership lets Stripe customers convert fiat payments into Bitcoin and back again using the OpenNode app, serving as a crypto marketplace, and offers third-party developers opportunities to build apps that support Stripe integrations.

OpenNode app converts payments to Bitcoin

Stripe's business customers will be able to convert payments to Bitcoin using the OpenNode app, which has a split payment feature for automatic conversion. Josh Held, OpenNode's head of strategy, summed it up this week: "The app gives businesses a simple and secure way to convert incoming payments to Bitcoin in real time, automatically or on demand."

The Stripe App Marketplace

Stripe also announced the launch of its Stripe App Marketplace. The marketplace lets companies create customer interfaces for streamlining workflow and data-syncing. Stripe's application programming interface, or API, can be used to build apps that support Stripe integrations. Developers can benefit from simplified customer operations and shared context across tools.

The bottom line

Although it's been done relatively quietly, Stripe has been ramping up renewed support for digital finance since last year, when it began recruiting crypto talent. In March of this year, it began helping FTX and Blockchain.com with processing online payments, and in April, Stripe announced stablecoin payment options for creators. With the additional launch of its OpenNode app and Stripe App Marketplace, it's clear that Stripe is turning over a new leaf in crypto. Stripe's recently announced partnership with OpenNode could broaden the usage of cryptocurrency for millions of customers.