Stripe has announced the reactivation of crypto payments for U.S. businesses, allowing businesses to accept USDC through Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon.

This move marks the first time since 2018 that U.S. Stripe customers can process crypto transactions, following the company's decision to discontinue support for Bitcoin due to declining demand.

The new feature enables U.S. businesses to accept payments in USDC from customers in over 150 countries, with transactions settled in U.S. dollars.

Stripe’s product lead, Jeff Weinstein, explained that the integration supports checkout, elements, and payment intents, with plans to extend functionality to the company’s subscription services in the near future.

Stripe originally became a pioneer in the crypto payments sector in 2014 when it first offered Bitcoin support. However, by 2018, the company halted this service, citing issues such as long confirmation times, high fees, and price volatility as contributing factors to the decision.

While Stripe aimed to launch USDC payments earlier this summer, delays pushed the rollout to October. Weinstein remarked that the timeline was aligned with San Francisco's summer season, indicating that future support for additional countries is anticipated.

In recent months, Stripe has been actively expanding its crypto offerings. In July, its EU division introduced a widget that allows online vendors in Europe to facilitate purchases of various crypto, including BTC, ETH, and SOL.

Additionally, in June, Stripe partnered with Coinbase to integrate the crypto exchange's Layer 2 network, Base, into its payout products, enabling users to buy digital assets using credit cards or Apple Pay through the Coinbase Wallet.