Stripe Enables Fiat-to-crypto On-ramp

Stripe will manage all KYC requirements, payments, fraud and compliance

article-image

Sundry Photography/Shutterstock.com

share

Global payments processing company Stripe is launching its own fiat-to-crypto on-ramp, allowing customers to exchange dollars for cryptocurrencies.

Stripe’s new transactions solution is billed as a customizable widget, which can be directly embedded within different DeFi platforms. 

The most common way to on-ramp fiat-to-crypto today is to purchase cryptocurrencies through a centralized exchange — including the likes of Coinbase, Binance, Kraken and the recently deceased FTX. To partake in DeFi, one then transfers the cryptocurrency to a third-party wallet.

As a major payments processor for prominent Web2 companies, such as Apple and Walmart, Stripe’s decision to step further into the crypto world during a time when centralized exchanges are under heightened scrutiny can help DeFi become more accessible to mainstream consumers. 

“It’s extremely difficult to get end users ‘on chain’— that is, to fund their wallets with the crypto required to interface with Web3 applications,” Jennifer Lee, product manager at Stripe, wrote in a blog post

Lee added: “Developers have to wrestle with rampant fraud; navigate complex KYC requirements; and somehow still offer a seamless, high-conversion payments experience so that their users can actually use their Web3 applications.”

Stripe says it will handle tasks related to KYC requirements, payments, fraud and compliance.

Companies that already partner with Stripe for fiat-to-crypto on-ramp services include NFT marketplace Magic Eden, social NFT platform Nifty’s, and decentralized exchange Orca.

There are very limited ways to use DeFi services without a centralized mediator. Stripe’s latest fiat-to-crypto onramp will compete with non-custodial exchanges, such as Kado, which recently moved to bring its on- and off-ramp services to Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Cosmos and Axelar.

Kado welcomes the new competition.

“It’s great to see more established payment companies coming into the space, which has been part of our thesis all along,” CEO Emery Andrew told Blockworks via e-mail, adding “Payments innovation has always been one of the no brainer use cases for blockchain and cryptocurrency.”

Born out of the old Terra ecosystem, Kado initially launched a Terra UST native on-ramp and now supports Cosmos, Avalanche, Ethereum, and Solana, allowing transfers from bank accounts directly to wallets in fewer than five minutes.

For now, Stripe’s new products are slated to only be available to US customers, with availability to other countries in the works.

Updated on Dec. 2, 2022 at 1:44 pm ET: A comment from Kado was added.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template.png

Research

The march toward an interoperable and onchain-by-default internet depends on reliable messaging and value transfer across heterogeneous domains. Crosschain protocols now process >$1.3T in combined annual transfer volume and secure tens of millions of user interactions, yet no single design dominates.

article-image

The goal, per Santiago Santos, is to make crypto a relatable piece of tech for people who may not even understand it

article-image

Stripe stablecoin unit aims to operate under a federal charter enabling regulated stablecoin issuance and custody services

by Blockworks /
article-image

Will TradFi make crypto better or create more problems than it solves?

article-image

Subtle decisions by risk curators saved Aave from significant turmoil

article-image

The new Rootstock Institutional unit aims to connect professional investors to Bitcoin-native yield and liquidity strategies anchored in BTC’s security layer

by Blockworks /
article-image

DOJ files record civil forfeiture against more than 127,000 BTC linked to scam activity

by Blockworks /