- Stripe processed $1.9 trillion in 2025, up 34%, powering 5 million businesses globally.
- New startups are growing 50% faster, with AI acting as a major catalyst for entrepreneurial acceleration.
- Stablecoin payment volume doubled to $400 billion, even as Bitcoin prices fell, signaling a shift in digital finance.
Stripe's 2025 annual letter paints a vivid picture of a rapidly evolving global economy, driven by unprecedented entrepreneurial acceleration, the transformative power of AI, and the quiet rise of stablecoins as a foundational payment rail.
The internet economy is experiencing an intense acceleration, a phenomenon Stripe dubs the 'sorting machine' operating at hyper-speed. In 2025, businesses on Stripe generated a staggering $1.9 trillion in total volume, a 34% increase from the previous year, equivalent to 1.6% of global GDP. This growth isn't just about scale; it's about speed. New cohorts of startups are growing 50% faster than their predecessors, with many reaching $10 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) within three months of launch. This entrepreneurial surge is largely attributed to advances in large language models, making building easier and fostering a 'global by default' mindset where businesses launch internationally from day one.
Beyond traditional payments, Stripe highlights the quiet revolution of stablecoins. Despite a 'crypto winter' where Bitcoin prices dropped significantly, stablecoin payment volume doubled to $400 billion in 2025, with 60% attributed to B2B payments. To address the unique demands of this burgeoning sector, Stripe, in partnership with Paradigm, unveiled Tempo – a blockchain purpose-built for payments, offering dedicated lanes, sub-second finality, and opt-in privacy. This infrastructure is critical for the future of 'agentic commerce,' where AI agents will increasingly handle transactions on behalf of users, moving from simple form-filling to complex, anticipatory purchasing.
Stripe also emphasizes the critical importance of optimizing payment infrastructure, arguing that many businesses are in a 'low revenue mode' due to unoptimized systems. Simple changes, like offering localized payment methods such as Blick in Poland or Pix in Brazil, can lead to significant conversion uplifts (46% and 31% respectively). Furthermore, access to capital remains a bottleneck for small businesses globally, a problem Stripe Capital is addressing by providing funds that have demonstrably accelerated growth by an average of 27 percentage points for recipients. The letter concludes by urging a reevaluation of regulatory frameworks, warning that 'synthetic impediments' could stifle the immense potential of AI and new technologies, transforming a 'republic of letters' into a 'republic of permissions.'
“Most businesses are today operating in what we call low revenue mode. Running on old unoptimized payments infrastructure that's leaking dollars left, right, and center through conversion, o, and fraud prevention rates.”
- Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe
