Stripe has incorporated the team behind Valora, a mobile-centred crypto payments app built on the Celo network.
The move is part of Stripe’s ongoing push to extend its use of blockchain technology and stablecoins. The development follows a period in which Stripe has steadily increased its activity in crypto-related infrastructure.
This development also marks a shift for Valora, which was originally formed as a separate company in 2021 after spinning out from cLabs, the organisation responsible for the Celo ecosystem. At the time of its launch, the startup raised USD 20 million to develop a wallet and payments product intended for mobile use.
Representatives from Valora noted in a company blog post that recent months had shown that integrating with Stripe could advance their work more effectively than continuing independently. They said their experience suggested that access to stablecoins and crypto-based payment channels had the potential to widen financial participation, and that collaborating with a larger payments provider would enable them to pursue that objective more quickly.
Stripe’s general blockchain activities
Stripe has confirmed the addition of the Valora team, stating that the group’s background in crypto wallet infrastructure and on-chain tools would support its ongoing work in the sector. Company officials described this expertise as useful for Stripe’s broader efforts to bring blockchain elements into its payment systems.
The development comes shortly after Stripe introduced several other crypto-focused initiatives. These include the acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge and the wallet app Privy, as well as its work with Paradigm on Tempo, a blockchain designed specifically for stablecoin-based transactions and currently in a testing phase.
