Two of the most influential fintech companies in the world — Coinbase and Stripe — unveiled major developments this week that point towards a transformative future of commerce.
The future of commerce
With Coinbase cementing its dominance in crypto derivatives and Stripe expanding aggressively into AI and stablecoin-powered financial infrastructure, both firms are setting the stage for a new era of programmable money.
Coinbase’s $2.9 Billion Derivatives Bet
Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, announced one of the most significant acquisitions in the sector’s history: the $2.9 billion purchase of crypto derivatives platform Deribit.
This strategic move plugs a long-standing gap in Coinbase’s offering, positioning the exchange to better compete in the high-margin world of crypto options and futures — a space previously dominated by rivals like Binance and Bybit.
According to Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas, the firm is also eyeing stablecoins as a major source of revenue diversification.
“We’re seeing increasing global adoption of USDC,” Haas said, noting that monthly transacting users holding the stablecoin have doubled in the past two years, while balances per user have tripled.
She described stablecoins as a “near-term driver” for broader crypto payment flows, potentially underpinning new use cases beyond trading — particularly in emerging markets and for cross-border commerce.
The market responded positively to the Deribit acquisition, sending Coinbase shares up 6% in Thursday trading.
The deal will be financed through a combination of Coinbase common stock and $700 million in cash.
Stripe Bets on AI and Stablecoins
While Coinbase strengthens its crypto core, Stripe — already one of the world’s most widely adopted payment processors — is making a bold leap into programmable finance.
At its annual Sessions event, Stripe launched the world’s first AI foundation model for payments and announced a sweeping range of new products powered by stablecoins and multicurrency capabilities.
The new Payments Foundation Model, trained on tens of billions of real transactions, is already outperforming Stripe’s legacy fraud detection systems.
Stripe claims the model has improved the detection of card testing attacks on large merchants by 64% overnight — a compelling illustration of AI’s potential to safeguard global payments infrastructure.
Stripe also launched Stablecoin Financial Accounts, enabling businesses in over 100 countries to hold balances in USDC or USDB, receive payments via both fiat and crypto rails, and send stablecoins globally.
Importantly, these accounts are integrated with Stripe’s wider money management suite, allowing businesses to manage stablecoins alongside fiat currencies like USD, EUR and GBP — while avoiding costly FX conversions.
In partnership with Visa, Stripe-backed Bridge will soon enable stablecoin-linked debit cards, making it possible to spend crypto holdings as easily as traditional currency.
The cards will support merchant acceptance across Visa’s 150 million-strong global network, overcoming one of the final barriers to mainstream stablecoin adoption.
Redefining Global Money Movement
Together, Coinbase and Stripe are shaping a more fluid and decentralised future for global finance.
Coinbase’s embrace of stablecoins and derivatives trading, alongside Stripe’s AI-driven, multicurrency, and crypto-integrated platform, reflects a growing convergence between digital assets and traditional payments infrastructure.
The implications are profound: a world where money flows as freely as data, where AI safeguards financial transactions, and where businesses of all sizes can participate in the global economy without being shackled by legacy banking rails or high FX costs…
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