Bridge
Bridge is a payments infrastructure platform built on stablecoins that provides API-based products for businesses to manage global money movement. The platform enables companies to receive, store, convert, issue, and spend stablecoins, while handling the underlying regulatory, compliance, and technical complexities associated with these transactions. [1] [2]
Overview
Bridge was officially announced on August 24, 2024, with the stated mission of addressing challenges in traditional finance, such as hyperinflation, high transaction costs, and slow settlement times for cross-border payments, by using stablecoins. [3] The company's platform is designed to move funds across both traditional fiat rails and stablecoins, offering a suite of APIs for developers to build financial products. [2] The founding team includes former employees of Coinbase who were involved in the development of USDC. [3]
The company has raised $58 million in funding from investors including Sequoia, Ribbit, Index, and Haun Ventures. [3] Bridge operates globally through several legal entities: Bridge Ventures LLC for residents outside the European Economic Area (EEA), Bridge Building Inc (NMLS # 2450917) for residents of the United States, and Bridge Building Sp. Z.o.o. for EEA residents. [1]
Features
Bridge offers a fully integrated suite of products that businesses can use to manage stablecoin-based payments and financial services through a single API integration. [1] The platform is composed of several key components, each with distinct functions powered by its own set of APIs. [2]
Orchestration
The Orchestration product is the foundational layer of the Bridge platform, providing APIs to move, store, and accept stablecoins and fiat currencies. [1] [4] It is designed to integrate stablecoins into existing payment flows, enabling on-ramps, off-ramps, and crypto-to-crypto payments. The service facilitates conversions between various fiat currencies, such as USD and EUR, and multiple stablecoins, including USDC, PYUSD, and USDT. [3]
The Orchestration suite includes several specific products:
- Transfers: Enables one-time or on-demand transfers between fiat and stablecoins for creating programmatic on-ramps (e.g., USD to USDC) and off-ramps (e.g., BTC to USD).
- Static Template Transfers: Provides reusable and persistent deposit instructions for customers to make recurring payments.
- Virtual Accounts: Allows businesses to issue unique fiat deposit accounts to their customers in currencies like USD, EUR, and MXN, complete with local bank details.
- Prefunded Accounts: A feature that allows businesses to preload funds into a Bridge-managed balance to facilitate instant fiat off-ramps for time-sensitive applications like payroll.
- Liquidation Address: A blockchain address linked to a specific fiat or crypto destination, where any funds sent are automatically converted and forwarded. [4]
Wallets
Bridge provides a Custodial Wallets API that enables companies to create and manage digital asset wallets at scale for their end-users or for their own corporate treasury. [1] The platform is designed to manage the technical complexities of wallet infrastructure, including on-chain security and gas management. [5]
Key capabilities of the Wallets API include wallet creation, fund transfers via the Orchestration API, instant internal transfers between Bridge-hosted wallets, balance inquiries, and the assignment of custom labels and policies to wallets. All fund transfers must be executed through the Orchestration APIs to ensure security and compliance; sending funds directly to a custodial wallet address is not supported and may result in a loss of funds. All wallet fund flows must be reviewed and approved by Bridge's legal and compliance team before use in a production environment. [5]
Supported Assets and Availability
The platform supports several stablecoins across multiple blockchains. All amounts are processed and expressed in whole U.S. cents.
| Blockchain | Supported Tokens |
|---|---|
| Solana | USDC, USDB, PYUSD, EURC |
| Base | USDC, USDB, EURC |
| Ethereum | USDB, |
The Wallets service is not available in all jurisdictions. In the United States, it is unavailable in Alaska, New York, and Texas. Internationally, it is unavailable in Kenya, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia. [5]
Cards
Bridge offers a global card issuance program that allows clients to create and manage virtual and physical cards linked to stablecoin balances. [1] [6] This feature enables end-customers to spend their stablecoins in local currencies at any merchant that accepts Visa. The card program is compatible with both custodial and non-custodial wallets, providing flexibility for clients. Through a single integration, businesses can launch card programs in multiple international markets. The platform also provides a revenue-sharing model, allowing businesses to earn a portion of the income generated from their customers' card spending. [6]
Issuance
The Issuance API, also known as "Open Issuance," allows businesses to launch their own branded stablecoins or use Bridge's native stablecoin, USDB. [1] [7] Clients can accept various currencies, such as USD, USDC, or USDT, and settle transactions in their own native stablecoin. All stablecoins issued through the platform are backed 1:1 by U.S. dollars. The reserves backing these stablecoins are invested in U.S. Treasuries held with custodians such as Blackrock and Fidelity, which Bridge states can earn a yield for the issuer. [1] [7]
Bridge offers two stablecoin models:
- USDB: An off-the-shelf stablecoin designed for easy integration. Bridge manages the reserves, liquidity, and branding for this token, which is intended for use in a closed-loop system.
- Custom Stablecoin: A fully customizable stablecoin that allows a business to define its own reserves strategy, branding, and liquidity management. It can be used in either an open or closed-loop system. [7]
| Feature | USDB | Custom |
|---|---|---|
| Reserves | Bridge managed | Customized reserves strategy |
| Smart Contract | Single smart contract | Separate smart contracts |
| Liquidity | Bridge handles liquidity | Developer provides liquidity |
| Branding | Bridge token branding | Customized token branding |
| Reserves Type | Off-chain reserves | On and off-chain reserves |
| System Type | Closed loop only | Open or closed loop |
The Issuance service is not available to residents of the European Economic Area (EEA), and all direct purchasers of Bridge-issued stablecoins must be a Know Your Customer (KYC) verified customer of Bridge. [7]
Customers
The Customers component of the platform is focused on user onboarding, identity management, and compliance. [2] Bridge manages all Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Business (KYB) verification processes to ensure that end-users meet compliance requirements for transactions. The system uses a "Customers API" and "KYC Links API" to register end-users. [8]
A key concept within this feature is "Endorsements," a mechanism used to verify if a customer is eligible to use specific services, payment rails, or transaction types before a transaction is initiated. [8]
Bridge's infrastructure is used by numerous companies for various applications, including global payouts for aid organizations, B2B cross-border payments, providing dollar access in emerging markets, foreign exchange, and corporate treasury management. [3] Notable customers and platform users include Tazapay, Bitso, Airtm, Wirex, Circle, Dakota, DolarApp, and Shopify. [1]
Customer testimonials include:
- Imran Ahmad of Bitso stated, "We're building a new stablecoin-based payment rail between LATAM and the US. Bridge has been instrumental in enabling us to scale over the last year.”
- Rubén Galindo Steckel of Airtm commented, "Bridge has been a critical partner in enabling us to serve aid and gig platforms. Together we've built new payment infrastructure that enables real-time stablecoin-based payouts to thousands of end users.”
- Zach Garman of DolarApp said, "We're giving consumers and businesses across LATAM access to digital dollars, and Bridge has been a critical partner for us. We're building new infrastructure with a new technology and they have been excellent partners, helping us scale through a variety of challenges.” [1]
Partnerships
Bridge has established several partnerships to support and expand its services.
- Stripe: A partnership with financial infrastructure company Stripe is indicated by a co-branded logo on the Bridge website. A testimonial from Shopify suggests a collaboration where Bridge's infrastructure supports Stripe's stablecoin services for merchants. [1]
- Visa: Bridge partners with Visa to power its virtual and physical card issuance program. This partnership allows end-users to spend their stablecoin balances at any merchant that accepts Visa globally. [6]
- Bitso: Bridge partnered with the Latin American cryptocurrency exchange Bitso to facilitate B2B cross-border payments, allowing businesses to convert between Mexican Pesos (MXN) and U.S. Dollars (USD) using stablecoin payment rails. [3]
- Blackrock and Fidelity: As part of its Issuance service, Bridge uses Blackrock and Fidelity as tier-one custodians to hold the U.S. Treasury reserves that back its stablecoins. [7]