Stripe, Ripple, Blockchain.com, OpenSea Lead Way for Top 10 US Fintech Companies

Forbes has released its annual list of the ten largest fintech companies in the US, providing insight into the dynamic landscape of the financial technology industry. However, this year’s list includes a disclaimer due to the market downturn’s impact on fintech values.

First on the list was the payment processing giant Stripe. The crypto-friendly firm, founded by Irish brothers Patrick and John Collison, ranked first on the list despite experiencing a decline in value from $95 billion recorded in 2021 to $50 billion in March 2023. The company has topped the list since 2021.

The payment processor has played a central role in facilitating online business transactions, processing a staggering $817 billion in transactions last year. Some of the high-end clients include ChatGPT creator OpenAI, Microsoft and Ford.

Followed by Stripe is Chime, which came second on the list. The financial services firm has received $2.3 billion in funding, one of the criteria for the ranking, from venture capital firms such as Sequoia Capital and Menlo Ventures.

Ripple ranks the third largest Fintech company in the US

Blockchain payment infrastructure Ripple was third on the list, demonstrating resilience and innovation in the face of challenges.

The company is facing one of the longest-running legal battles in crypto history with the US regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), over the XRP token. It registered a value of $15 billion.

The payments company was launched in 2012 by Chris Larsen, executive chairman, and Brad Garlinghouse. According to reports, Ripple raised an undisclosed amount in January this year.

Three years ago, Ripple earned a spot on the same Forbes list through fundraising and strategic partnerships. It raised about $200 million in a Series C funding round during the last quarter of the year.

Ripple was followed by another crypto-focused company, Blockchain.com, which took the fourth position with a value of $14 billion. The firm operates as a provider of digital assets, data hub and wallet.

It allows users to self-storage crypto assets and access multiple services within a single platform. With a presence in over 200 countries and support for 25 languages, Blockchain.com has gained recognition as a leading player in the crypto space.

OpenSea meets competition with blur

OpenSea, a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, also made the list. The company ranked sixth on the Forbes list after Plaid, a US-based company that connects customers’ data to other financial applications.

The NFT marketplace, launched in December 2017, is valued at around $13.3 billion. The valuation earned the founders, Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah, the title of NFT Billionaires.

OpenSea experienced a very successful year in 2022, generating a remarkable $472 million in revenue. The platform achieved this through a 2.5% transaction fee on a significant trade volume of $18.8 billion. However, the company is now facing increasing competition from new competitors such as Blur, which surpassed OpenSea as the dominant marketplace in terms of NFT trading volume earlier this year.

This changing landscape presents OpenSea with the challenge of maintaining its position in the market amid the emergence of formidable rivals.

Meanwhile, other Fintech companies such as Brex, GoodLeap, Bolt and Alchemy made the Forbes list with $12.3 billion, $12 billion, $11 billion and $10.2 billion respectively.

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