Crypto.com Integrates With Stripe to Make Crypto Payments Easier
What the partnership actually does
and are rolling out a new integration that allows businesses using Stripe to accept payments directly from customers’ crypto balances through Crypto.com Pay.
At checkout, customers can choose to pay with supported cryptocurrencies or stablecoins held in their account. Stripe converts the payment into the merchant’s local currency and settles it to their bank account, the identical way it would with a card payment.
Crypto.com says it is the first crypto platform to integrate with Stripe for direct balance-based payments, meaning users do not need to manually convert crypto to fiat before paying.
Why this matters more for merchants than users
Crypto payments have existed for years, but adoption has been limited. One reason is that merchants generally do not want to deal with price volatility, custody, or accounting headaches tied to crypto.
This setup avoids most of that. From the merchant’s point of view, nothing changes. They still receive fiat. Stripe handles conversion, reconciliation, and settlement. Crypto becomes a funding source on the customer side, not a new asset the business needs to manage.
For users, the experience is meant to be straightforward: select Pay, scan a QR code, confirm in the app, and move on. Whether that simplicity is enough to change spending habits remains an open question.
Investor Takeaway
What Stripe gets out of it
Stripe’s role here is pragmatic. The company is not betting on crypto as a store of value. It is expanding the number of ways customers can pay while keeping its core settlement model intact.
Pay will appear as a payment option for merchants using Stripe’s Optimized Checkout tools, including Stripe Checkout and the Payment Element. For Stripe, that means broader coverage without introducing operational risk.
Crypto.com, meanwhile, will also use Stripe as a payment acquirer to support credit and debit card purchases of cryptocurrency and to process transactions tied to its own cards in the US.
How this fits into crypto’s payment difficulty
has long promised everyday payments, but most users still treat it as something to hold, not spend. Volatility, tax considerations, and habit all get in the way.
This integration does not solve those issues outright. It does, however, remove one common obstacle: merchants saying no. By plugging crypto into an existing checkout stack, Crypto.com and Stripe are testing whether availability alone can drive usage.
The rollout will begin in the US, with plans to expand to other markets. How rapidly that happens will depend on regulation, demand, and whether users actually choose crypto over cards.
