Stripe and Swift race to control the next generation of global payments infrastructure
Crypto and blockchain experts say this week's moves show the two established finance companies are increasingly competing for control of the infrastructure behind digital payments.
AI Summary
Stripe’s unsolicited $53 billion bid for PayPal and Swift’s expansion of a blockchain settlement network with over 40 financial institutions highlight a growing competition to control the infrastructure behind tokenized payments. The battle has shifted from proving blockchain technology to owning distribution channels—wallets, merchant acceptance, and settlement layers—as stablecoins achieve mainstream status. Both moves aim to capture cross-border remittance flows and native stablecoin reserve economics ahead of tighter regulation.