[HN Gopher] Stripe to start taking crypto payments starting with...
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       Stripe to start taking crypto payments starting with USDC
       stablecoin
        
       Author : rvz
       Score  : 25 points
       Date   : 2024-04-25 18:39 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (techcrunch.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (techcrunch.com)
        
       | namanyayg wrote:
       | They're supporting Solana which is basically a centralized coin
       | with a superminority of 22 validators [0] and keeps going offline
       | regularly [1].
       | 
       | They fail to support legitimate businesses and instead choose to
       | support crypto, which is a world of grift and scams.
       | 
       | Has Stripe sold their ethics?
       | 
       | [0] https://solanabeach.io/validators [1]
       | https://decrypt.co/216132/solana-outage-developers-say-could...
        
         | hanniabu wrote:
         | It is a damn shame to see Solana getting integrations and put
         | on the same playing field as Ethereum, since as you say it's
         | quite centralized and was a product of Sam Bankman-Fried's
         | fraud pumping it into "relevancy".
         | 
         | But unfortunately those behind the projects and the project's
         | treasury itself has become quite rich from the increase in
         | price and can support bizdev and grants (bribes).
        
         | spxneo wrote:
         | If the fish rots from the head then this "ny state of mind"
         | doesn't begin with Stripe if you understand who I'm talking
         | about.
         | 
         | Its incredible that the harm that SBF has done with Solana and
         | other ponzi coins would get direct support from Stripe
        
         | J_Shelby_J wrote:
         | IMO, the old generation of crypto people will go to their grave
         | mad that anything other than ethereum sees success.
         | 
         | There are valid complaints about Solana, but the ones that get
         | trotted out in online discourse are repeated until they become
         | reality for the horse beater. Unfortunately for them, their
         | reality is disconnected from actual reality.
        
       | harles wrote:
       | How long do these payments take? Or are they layering a
       | centralized system on top to pretend the crypto has moved?
        
         | hanniabu wrote:
         | Depends on the chain.
         | 
         | Bitcoin, which is unfortunately many people's first
         | introduction to crypto, takes on average 10 minutes per block.
         | Typically services then wait for finality which is 6 blocks, so
         | about an hour.
         | 
         | On Ethereum, each block is 12 seconds and 64 blocks for
         | finality, so 12.8 minutes. If Stripe were smart, they'd be
         | using an L2 like Base where block times are ~2s.
         | 
         | On Solana, each block .45s and 20-40s for finality. But Solana
         | makes a lot of sacrifices and tradeoffs to achieve this and
         | thus isn't on the same level as Ethereum.
         | 
         | Edit: From another article is appears they'll be using custody
         | funds though, at least to start. So in that case transactions
         | should be instant due to a centralized layer as you mention.
        
           | J_Shelby_J wrote:
           | What sacrifices and trade offs does it make that an L2 with
           | equivalent performance doesn't also make?
        
           | kevincox wrote:
           | > finality which is 6 blocks
           | 
           | There isn't such thing as "finality" in bitcoin right? The
           | probability of another chain growing longer just dramatically
           | shrinks each extra block mined (as most of the mining power
           | will quickly shift to the longest known chain).
           | 
           | There is also a lot of historical data as the bitcoin
           | blockchain has been running for many years. How many times
           | has a chain with a 2-block lead been surpassed? It seems like
           | the data is out there to create a pretty accurate graph for
           | by-chance reversal for a given number of confirmations.
           | (Intentional reversing is a bit of a different issue but you
           | should be able to estimate the computation costs as well).
        
         | J_Shelby_J wrote:
         | I used Solana pay irl last year, and it was as easy and quick
         | as Apple Pay. Solana has a sub-second confirmation time.
         | 
         | If you live in a county with a functional and stable financial
         | system then this announcement isn't for you. If you live in xyz
         | country where getting a credit card is a big challenge this
         | will make it easier to shop online.
        
       | colesantiago wrote:
       | It is a massive disappointment that Stripe is getting involved in
       | facilitating scams and ransomware by accepting 'crypto payments'.
       | 
       | I think it's about time to move off Stripe to other payment
       | providers that don't accept crypto since Stripe is becoming more
       | hostile and banning customers and shutting down their accounts
       | for no reason.
       | 
       | I am betting that Stripe chose crypto to avoid more chargebacks
       | (that crypto does not support)
        
         | spxneo wrote:
         | I am quite taken back by Stripes decision here but dissing PG's
         | golden boy will get me banned so I suggest everybody to read
         | @bitfinexed on X on why USDC/Tether is extremely shady.
         | 
         | but I don't know which payment processor like Stripe can do the
         | following:
         | 
         | - marketplace onboarding for buyers and sellers
         | 
         | - crowdfunding
         | 
         | - mass payouts/intermediary payouts
         | 
         | - doesn't hide fees for dashboard
        
       | yfw wrote:
       | They used to take btc before
        
       | TacticalCoder wrote:
       | Two HN unicorns involved then. Although USDC is emitted by
       | "Centre", Centre is 50/50 Coinbase and Circle. And Coinbase is
       | another HN unicorn.
        
       | thecleaner wrote:
       | Is Stripe profitable ?
        
         | steve_adams_86 wrote:
         | Apparently they weren't for a long time, but they may have been
         | last year (based on some cursory googling). They projected
         | $100,000,000 EBITDA for 2023, but I'm not certain it panned
         | out.
         | 
         | Their cash burn over the years has been astonishing. It seems
         | like a very difficult business to make money in, somewhat
         | ironically. Sort of a "water water everywhere" situation.
        
       | toomuchtodo wrote:
       | Can't your bank just accept FedNow instant payments? You don't
       | need Stripe and stablecoins for them to do that. 20 second SLA,
       | $100k value transfer at a time (to start, up to $500k based on
       | specific institution risk profile), and they are free or very low
       | cost.
       | 
       | https://www.frbservices.org/financial-services/fednow/organi...
       | 
       | https://www.moderntreasury.com/journal/fednow-launch
       | 
       | https://www.moderntreasury.com/questions/what-is-the-maximum...
        
       | brcmthrowaway wrote:
       | I thought stablecoins were a scam?
        
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       (page generated 2024-04-25 23:01 UTC)