Stripe is becoming a centralized platform
If you look at Stripe's acquisition spree over the last year you might think it’s just good business but if you dig into it it’s not really that good for the builders. They bought Bridge for stablecoin infrastructure then Privy for embedded wallets and then built Tempo their own Layer 1 blockchain because existing chains according to them weren't optimized for their volume. Every layer of the crypto payments stack is now owned by Stripe or controlled by them. That's not a diversified infrastructure that's an entire platform. The concern I have is that it seems the more you integrate the harder it is to leave. Your stablecoin rails, your wallet custody or your settlement chain, all the same vendor. If I wanted a centralized platform I’d never get into stablecoin or crypto at all. Even Tempo's testnet launched with four validators run by the Tempo team. Right now it's a private chain with a public-sounding name. Builders who prioritized flexibility and chain-agnosticism two years ago look pretty smart today.