Stripe stablecoin card program lead Connor Fitzgerald steps down

Stripe's stablecoin partnerships head, Connor Fitzgerald, has stepped down after helping build the company's global stablecoin card program from launch to operations across more than 100 markets.

Summary

• Stripe partnerships head Connor Fitzgerald has left the company after helping build its global stablecoin card program.
• He joined Bridge shortly after Stripe acquired the stablecoin infrastructure company and helped establish sponsor bank and card network partnerships.
• His departure comes as Stripe continues expanding its regulated stablecoin payment infrastructure through Bridge.

Connor Fitzgerald announced on X that last week was his final week at Stripe and its stablecoin infrastructure business Bridge, ending a tenure that began shortly after Stripe completed its acquisition of the stablecoin platform.

Fitzgerald said he joined Bridge one month after Stripe completed the acquisition, at a time when no company had built a stablecoin card program backed by a sponsor bank. He said his work focused on establishing the banking and card network relationships required to launch the program before expanding it internationally.

According to Fitzgerald, the early stages required building sponsor bank partnerships from scratch while working through regulatory and operational requirements on a market-by-market basis. He said the team also created the infrastructure needed to support global expansion.

Over the following year, Fitzgerald said the program reached more than 100 markets, introduced the first stablecoin settlement flow in the United States, and increased annualized payment volume from zero to tens of millions of dollars.

"I also got to work with some of the best people in fintech, many of whom became close friends, while seeing up close how Stripe builds and operates at scale," Fitzgerald wrote.

Connor Fitzgerald served as Stripe's head of partnerships, where he worked with payment networks, financial institutions, and fintech companies. During his tenure, Stripe expanded relationships with companies including Visa to support stablecoin-backed card issuance for wallet providers and fintech platforms.

His departure comes as Stripe continues expanding the payments infrastructure it has built around stablecoins following its acquisition of Bridge.

Stripe completed its roughly $1.1 billion acquisition of Bridge to accelerate its stablecoin payments business, adding infrastructure designed to help businesses move money using blockchain-based payment rails.

Since then, the company has introduced new stablecoin products while extending regulated payment services into additional regions.

As previously reported by crypto.news, Bridge received both a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) crypto-asset service provider authorization and an Electronic Money Institution license in Luxembourg earlier this month. The approvals allow the company to provide regulated services across all 27 European Union member states under a single regulatory framework.

According to Bridge, the licenses let businesses issue custom euro-backed stablecoins, create named virtual IBANs, and offer euro accounts throughout the European Union without establishing separate banking relationships in each country.

Bridge also said fintech companies can integrate cross-border euro accounts through a single connection, while enterprises can use stablecoins to move funds between subsidiaries instead of relying on traditional correspondent banking networks.

The regulatory approvals followed another expansion announced earlier this year. In March, Visa said it was extending its partnership with the Stripe-owned company to launch stablecoin-backed Visa card programs in more than 100 countries by the end of 2026.

Fitzgerald joined Bridge shortly after the acquisition closed and said the company built much of the underlying sponsor bank, regulatory, and network infrastructure during that period before scaling the program internationally.

Looking ahead, Fitzgerald indicated that his next venture will remain closely connected to blockchain-based financial infrastructure.

After working with dozens of stablecoin companies during his time at Stripe and Bridge, Fitzgerald said he concluded that the next generation of global banking would be built natively onchain.

He did not disclose his future plans but said more information would be shared soon.

The comments come as stablecoin payment infrastructure continues to attract investment from payment companies seeking to expand blockchain-based financial services alongside conventional payment rails.

Stripe has continued integrating stablecoins into its broader payments business while pursuing regulated expansion across major markets.

The company has combined Bridge's infrastructure with its own global payments network to support cross-border settlement, stablecoin payments, and card issuance for businesses and developers.

Stripe's interest in digital payments has also extended beyond Bridge. As previously reported by Reuters, the company joined private equity firm Advent International in June to submit a roughly $53 billion proposal to acquire PayPal.

According to Reuters, PayPal's board concluded the $60.50-per-share proposal undervalued the company while also considering financing certainty, regulatory hurdles, and execution risks before deciding how to proceed. Reuters also reported that negotiations remained active, with Stripe and Advent continuing discussions despite the board's reservations.

The proposed acquisition would bring together PayPal's crypto payment products, including the PYUSD stablecoin issued by Paxos, with Stripe's growing stablecoin infrastructure built through Bridge. Reuters reported that Stripe and Advent also explored potential structural remedies should antitrust regulators require changes to the transaction.