Stablecoin Bank Deposits: Bridge, Privy and Stripe
By Shawn Michael Thomas II, Founder of Simple Easy Transactions · Published ·
How can a US bank deposit turn into USDC in a wallet you control, and which providers make it work? A Bridge virtual account gives you your own US account and routing numbers. Every ACH, wire or FedNow deposit sent there is converted by Bridge into a stablecoin such as USDC and delivered straight to your wallet, with no exchange account and no manual purchase. Pair it with a Privy wallet only you control and Bridge's cash-out to your bank, and dollars move between your bank and your wallet in both directions.
AT A GLANCE
Bank deposit into a Bridge virtual account vs Card purchase through Stripe's onramp.
| Question | Bank deposit into a Bridge virtual account | Card purchase through Stripe's onramp |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | ACH, wire or FedNow from your own bank account | A card, inside Stripe's onramp |
| What arrives in your wallet | USDC, USDT or PYUSD, on the chain you choose | The crypto Stripe supports in your region |
| Reusable | Yes: permanent deposit details you can use again and again | A new purchase each time |
| Who verifies your identity | Bridge, once, for deposits and cash-outs | Stripe |
| Who moves the money | Bridge Building Inc., under its US money transmitter licenses | Stripe, as merchant of record |
| Back to your bank | Yes: Bridge pays your stablecoin out to your US bank | No: the onramp is for buying |
HOW EACH ONE WORKS
How each one works.
Stablecoins are digital dollars that live on a blockchain. USDC, issued by Circle, is the best known: Circle states that USDC is redeemable 1:1 for US dollars, that it is backed by highly liquid cash and cash-equivalent assets, and that it publishes monthly reserve attestations by a Big Four accounting firm. USDT is issued by Tether and PYUSD by Paxos. All three are designed to hold a steady dollar value while moving like any other token: from wallet to wallet, on the blockchain's schedule rather than a bank's.
That combination is why a stablecoin balance is useful. It keeps the value of a dollar, it sits in a wallet you control instead of an account someone else can freeze or close, and it can be sent to anyone with a compatible wallet in minutes. The hard part has always been the edges: getting dollars from a bank into stablecoins without juggling an exchange account, and getting them back out to a bank when you need to spend them.
Bridge solves the first edge with virtual accounts. Bridge's documentation describes them as permanent, reusable fiat deposit addresses that convert incoming fiat into crypto and deliver it to the destination you specify. A USD virtual account comes with US account and routing numbers issued in your name, and accepts ACH, wire and FedNow. Money that lands there is converted to your chosen stablecoin and sent on chain to your wallet. You never place an order or watch a price: the deposit itself is the purchase.
Those account numbers work like any other bank details. Bridge permits first-party deposits from your own bank, fintech app or brokerage; payroll payments from businesses; payments from a registered business; payments from a family member who shares your surname; and person-to-person payments under $4,000. Third-party payments are supported in most states, but not New York or Texas. In practice, you can move savings from your bank, or give the details to an employer or client, and every payment arrives as stablecoins.
Bridge supports a long list of stablecoin and chain combinations for US bank deposits. For the wallets Privy creates, that means USDC on Base, Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Avalanche or Solana; USDT on Ethereum or Solana; and PYUSD on Ethereum or Solana. Bridge sets a minimum per route: 1 dollar for USDC and PYUSD, and 20 dollars for USDT. Bridge has no route to Bitcoin, so bank deposits always arrive as a dollar stablecoin.
Bridge is regulated money-movement infrastructure. Its US licenses and registrations page lists money transmitter licenses held by Bridge Building Inc. (NMLS #2450917), and Stripe announced on February 4, 2025 that it had completed its acquisition of Bridge. Bridge verifies each customer's identity before opening a virtual account, and it is Bridge, not the app you use, that receives, converts and pays out the money.
Privy covers the wallet. Its security documentation says sensitive wallet operations run inside trusted execution environments, also called secure enclaves, that private keys are sharded across separate security boundaries and never stored in complete form, and that its systems are non-custodial by design, so only the authorized user can access their keys. Privy's documentation also lets users export the private key of their embedded wallet and use the same address in another wallet app, such as MetaMask or Phantom. In June 2025, SiliconANGLE reported that Stripe had agreed to acquire Privy.
Stripe's onramp is the card route. Stripe's documentation says Stripe acts as the merchant of record for onramp purchases, assumes liability for fraud and disputes, and handles identity verification and sanctions screening. It suits a one-off purchase with a card. It does not give you standing deposit details, and it does not pay crypto back out to a bank: it is built for buying.
Each deposit moves through a short, visible sequence. Bridge's documentation names the stages: for ACH, the deposit is first scheduled with an estimated arrival date; then Bridge records the funds as received; then it submits the stablecoin payment on chain; and finally the payment is processed, which Bridge describes as confirmed on chain. A deposit can also be held for manual review, or returned to the sender if it cannot be delivered. Every stage carries the same deposit id, so a single transfer can be followed from the moment it leaves your bank to the moment it reaches your wallet.
Choosing a chain is mostly about where you plan to use the money. All three stablecoins exist on Ethereum; Base, Arbitrum, Optimism and Polygon are Ethereum-compatible networks, so one Ethereum-compatible wallet address receives on all of them; Avalanche is Ethereum-compatible as well; and Solana is a separate network with its own wallet. Networks differ in transaction costs and in which apps and exchanges accept them, so the practical rule is simple: pick the stablecoin and chain your other apps already use. You can change the destination later, and each deposit is delivered to the chain that was selected when it arrived.
The people who gain the most are the ones already paid in dollars who want some of those dollars on chain. A freelancer can give a US client standing account details and receive every invoice payment as USDC. A saver can move a fixed amount from checking each month and hold it as a dollar stablecoin in a wallet only they control. Someone who earns stablecoins can reverse the flow and cash out to their bank without opening an exchange account. In each case the deposit details and the wallet stay the same from one payment to the next.
The other edge is the way back. Bridge also converts stablecoins to dollars and pays them to your linked US bank account. You approve one send from your wallet to the deposit address Bridge provides, and Bridge pays your bank by ACH. The same identity check covers both directions, so once you are verified, dollars can move from bank to wallet and back without starting over.
Simple Easy Transactions Private Wallets put these pieces together. You sign in with an email code, and Privy creates wallets that only you control: an Ethereum-compatible wallet, a Solana wallet and a Bitcoin wallet. You verify once with Bridge, choose the stablecoin and chain you want, and receive your own account and routing numbers. Every deposit arrives in your wallet as that stablecoin, and a cash-out sends it back to your bank. A deposit is recorded as delivered only after Bridge's signed notification arrives and the blockchain confirms the stablecoin reached your wallet.
The costs are shown up front. Private Wallets charge a 3% service fee on each bank deposit and each cash-out, which Bridge withholds from the amount it converts or pays out; the fee appears before you confirm anything. Bridge's own fee and any network fee appear on Bridge's receipt. Opening a Private Wallet and receiving your deposit details costs nothing.
A few limits are worth knowing before you start. Bridge does not serve New York residents. Deposits over 3,000 dollars fall under the Travel Rule, which Private Wallets handle by recording that the destination wallet is your own. Stablecoins are not bank deposits and carry no deposit insurance. Blockchain transfers cannot be reversed, so money should only ever be sent to the addresses the app shows you.
HOW TO CHOOSE
How I'd choose.
- Choose a Bridge virtual account when you want dollars from your bank, your payroll or your clients to land as stablecoins automatically, and to cash them out to your bank whenever you need to.
- Choose Stripe's card onramp for a single card purchase of crypto when you do not need standing deposit details or a way back to your bank.
- Wait if you live in New York, or need deposits from outside the US banking system: Bridge's USD accounts do not cover those today.
SOURCES
Where these facts come from.
Sources checked on . Stripe and the app stores change their products and rules, so the linked pages are the final word.
- Bridge Docs: Onramp with virtual accounts
- Bridge Docs: USD integration guide
- Bridge Docs: Supported blockchains and fiat rails
- Bridge: US Licenses and Registrations
- Stripe Newsroom: Stripe completes Bridge acquisition
- Privy Docs: Security
- Privy Docs: Export a wallet's private key
- SiliconANGLE: Stripe acquires crypto wallet infrastructure provider Privy (June 11, 2025)
- Stripe Docs: Stripe fiat-to-crypto onramp
- Circle: USDC
- Tether: Supported protocols
- Paxos Docs: PYUSD mainnet addresses