Stripe and Advent Want to Buy PayPal for $53.4 Billion

The Industry's Potentially Largest Merger on the Table

According to Reuters, payments company Stripe and U.S. private equity firm Advent International submitted a joint acquisition offer for PayPal earlier in July. The valuation of around $53.4 billion corresponds to approximately 530 billion Norwegian kroner at the current exchange rate, with the per-share price set at $60.50 — nearly 28 percent above PayPal's closing price the day before the news broke.

The bid is reportedly backed by bank financing of around $50 billion, while Stripe, Advent, and potentially other investors are contributing around $17 billion in equity. 24markets has not been able to independently verify all details of the bid beyond the Reuters report, and it has not yet been confirmed by any of the parties involved.

"Stripe and Advent want to buy PayPal" is, according to market analyst Simon Taylor, the biggest story the payments industry has seen in many years.

Enormous Reach if the Merger Goes Through

A potential merger of Stripe and PayPal would create a payments group with exceptionally broad coverage. PayPal has over 400 million active user accounts globally, including 225 million monthly active users on the mobile application Venmo. Stripe, for its part, states that its payment service Stripe Link has over 300 million users. Together, the two companies serve more than 20 million small and medium-sized businesses.

The combined transaction potential is estimated by analysts at $3.7 trillion annually, which would make the merged company a dominant player in global digital payments.

Stripe and PayPal Have Different but Complementary Crypto Strategies

A key dimension of the potential merger is the two companies' respective commitments to crypto and stablecoins. PayPal already allows eligible customers to buy, sell, and use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and the company issues its own dollar-backed stablecoin, PYUSD, through Paxos. As of July 15, 2026, approximately $2.83 billion in PYUSD is estimated to be in circulation — down from a peak of $4.2 billion.

Stripe, for its part, has invested heavily in stablecoin infrastructure. In February 2025, the company acquired stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion, and in March 2026, the payments blockchain network Tempo was launched on mainnet in partnership with crypto venture firm Paradigm. Stripe has also acquired wallet startup Privy.

Stefan Deiss, CEO of The Hashgraph Group, argues in industry media that a merger would create a payments infrastructure in which crypto payments and stablecoins become standard for millions of consumers and businesses — as both sides of a transaction would in principle operate on shared crypto-compatible payment rails.

Significant Regulatory Risk

Combined market share in digital payments is already substantial for each company individually. A merger would likely trigger an in-depth review from U.S. competition authorities (FTC) and the European Commission. The stablecoin aspect further complicates the picture, as regulatory clarity for stablecoins remains unresolved in the United States, where the Senate has yet to finalize relevant legislation.

Technical integration presents another challenge: Stripe's modern API-based architecture would need to be connected to PayPal's legacy system landscape, which is historically time-consuming and costly.

Stock Market in Risk-Off Mode

The news of the bid comes in a market characterized by caution. 24markets' own market indicators show a Fear & Greed index of 25 out of 100, signaling pronounced fear among investors. In such a context, a bid of this magnitude — even if confirmed — would likely face skepticism regarding financing capacity and regulatory execution.

PayPal shares are currently trading below the stated bid price, which market participants typically interpret as a sign that the probability of a completed transaction is still considered limited.