What happened in crypto this week
It's been a busy week in crypto, with Ripple's co-founder buying stablecoin platform Bridge from payments processor Stripe giving $10 million in XRP to Kamala Harris's US election campaign passing a bipartisan Bitcoin bill for the Pennsylvania House.
Let's take a closer look at these and give you a recap of what happened in the crypt this week.
Stripe acquires Stalkcoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion
Payment processor Stripe has completed its acquisition of Bridge, a stablecoin platform, in a deal valued at $1.1 billion.
The deal, the largest for Stripe and valued at $70 billion in July, comes after Stripe co-founder John Collin announced in April that the company would “start supporting global stablecoin payments this summer.”
This deal is done. $1.1b
— Michael Arrington 🏴☠️ (@arrington) October 20, 2024
Once the payment processor integrates with Paxos, it will launch a stablecoin payment platform. The partnership aims to simplify how businesses accept stablecoin payments, providing a more efficient and cost-effective alternative to traditional payment methods.
Ripple's Chris Larsen donates $10 million in XRP to Kamala Harris
Ripple co-founder Chris Larson has become the crypto industry's biggest donor in the 2024 US election. Earlier this week, Larson donated $10 million in XRP to Vice President Kamala Harris' US election campaign.
Larson donated $9.9 million to Harris' Future Political Action Committee (PAC) and $800,000 to the Harris Victory Fund.
This latest amount follows a $1 million donation to Harris by XRP Larsen in August. Speaking about the latest donation, Larson said on X: “It's time for Democrats to take a new approach to technology innovation, including cryptocurrency.”
It's time for Democrats to take a new approach to technological innovation, including cryptocurrency. I believe @KamalaHarris will prove that US technology dominates the world, which is why I'm donating $10M in XRP to support her.
— Chris Larsen (@chrislarsensf) October 21,
The crypto industry has made about $190 million in political donations so far in the 2024 US election cycle. This is a significant increase from the $15 million donated during the 2020 election. Of the $190 million, more than $130 million was spent on congressional races.
Pennsylvania House passes Bitcoin bill
The Bitcoin Bill of Rights has been passed in the Pennsylvania House, which seeks regulatory transparency for the crypto industry.
The new bill received bipartisan support of 176 votes to 26, and is a major step forward for the US in regulatory transparency for digital assets. The bill outlines protections for Bitcoin and crypto holders, including the right to self-regulate and use it for payment.
The next step is for the bill to come up for debate and a vote in the Republican-led Pennsylvania Senate. If it passes, the final step will go to Governor Josh Shapiro. However, these two measures will take place after the US presidential election.
The topic of crypto played a significant role during the US election campaign with Donald Trump and Kamala Harris promising to support the crypto industry if elected as the next POTUS.
