Block’s 30% plunge in February leads fintech sell-off, while Stripe shows benefit of staying private
Patrick Collison, chief executive officer and co-founder of Stripe Inc., left, smiles as John Collison, president and co-founder of Stripe Inc., speaks during a Bloomberg Studio 1.0 television interview in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Friday, March 23, 2018.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Stripe has once again shown why sometimes it’s better to be private.
During a February sell-off for fintech stocks, Block plunged almost 30%, its steepest decline since 2022, alongside drops of 20% or more for PayPal and Coinbase and a 9% slide in shares of SoFi. Meanwhile, Stripe on Thursday announced a tender offer for employee shares at a $91.5 billion valuation, making the payments company significantly more valuable than any of its public market peers.
“In general, they benefit from being private because there’s a handful of stocks that people want to buy and they trade at a premium to public valuations,” said Larry Albukerk, founder of EB Exchange, which helps facilitate trades in shares of pre-IPO companies.
He said Stripe is part of an exclusive group of private companies, along with SpaceX, Anthropic and Anduril, which are all seeing sky-high demand from investors.
“For every one of those, there’s 100 companies that don’t get that kind of premium,” Albukerk said.
The Collison brothers — Patrick and John — founded Stripe in 2010, a year after Jack Dorsey started Square, which is now part of Block. Crypto exchange Coinbase and online lender SoFi were both launched after Stripe.
While all of those companies went the traditional route of raising large amounts of capital from prominent venture capital firms, only Stripe has chosen to stay private. To relieve some pressure for liquidity, Stripe regularly allows early investors and employees to sell a portion of their stake. The tender offer this week marks a 40% increase from a year ago and gets the company close to its peak valuation of $95 billion that it reached in the frothy days of the Covid pandemic.
“We are not dogmatic on the public vs. private question,” John Collison, the company’s president, told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin this week, adding that Stripe has “no near-term IPO plans.”
Stripe’s peers have all had to report quarterly results of late, and it’s created a hefty dose of volatility and some concern. Last week, Block reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that missed analysts’ expectations, pushing the stock down 18%, its third-worst one-day drop on record.
PayPal shares tumbled even though the company blew past estimates and issued better-than-expected guidance. Coinbase topped expectations with revenue soaring 130%, powered by a post-election spike in crypto prices. Coinbase was a leading contributor to Republicans’ sweeping victory in November in its effort to help push forward a more crypto-friendly agenda in Washington, D.C.
But Coinbase fell earlier this week to its lowest price since just before the election, tumbling in tandem with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 21st, 2025.
Gerry Miller | CNBC
It’s been a rough stretch for stocks overall, particularly in the tech sector. The Nasdaq fell about 5% in February, its worst month since September 2023. The S&P 500 declined 2.3%.
Investors have been rattled in recent days by President Donald Trump’s promise of tariffs and economic reports flashing warning signs. Notably, initial filings for unemployment benefits hit their highest level of the year last week in another potential sign of weakness in the labor market.
Fintechs can be more sensitive to economic conditions than the broader tech sector because they’re more directly effected by interest rates, employment data and consumer confidence.
Private market premium
By remaining private, Stripe is able to skirt the daily, weekly and monthly stock swings while also disclosing far fewer numbers to the public regarding its financial health.
The biggest revelation Stripe offered in its annual letter on Thursday is that it generated $1.4 trillion in total payment volume in 2024, up 38% from the year prior. The company said it was profitable in 2024, and expects to remain so this year, without providing specifics, and the only revenue figure it offered was that its finance and tax reporting unit topped a $500 million run rate.
Kelly Rodriques, CEO of private securities marketplace Forge, said Stripe’s valuation jump shows there’s enthusiasm for private companies, even some that aren’t focused specifically on artificial intelligence. Forge’s Private Market Index, which tracks demand for shares in private companies, has surged more than 33% in the past three months, and that’s before Stripe’s latest announcement.
“Stripe’s valuation increase could be further evidence of the broad rally we’re observing in the private market that is now rippling beyond the AI sector, which has driven most of the momentum over the last several months,” Rodriques said in an email.
Albukerk noted that another aspect to the spike in Stripe’s price is the scarcity of volume available for investors and the difficulty in getting access to it other than through the tender offers.
It’s one of those private companies “where there’s a lot of demand and very little supply,” he said.
However, just being private doesn’t eliminate Stripe’s other challenges.
In his interview on “Squawk Box,” John Collison highlighted the growing complexity of financial compliance and said banks are becoming more conservative in their partnerships with fintechs.
“We have started to see the financial system become more involved in financial policy enforcement,” Collison said. “And then you tend to get these occasional flare-ups from time to time.”
Both Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs have distanced themselves from the company, according to The Information, prompting Stripe to turn to Deutsche Bank and other institutions for key services. Collison didn’t provide details to CNBC, but acknowledged that Stripe has had to navigate shifting relationships.
“Banks are tightly regulated, and they in general want to have a sound book of business,” he said. “They don’t want to get into arguments with their regulator.” According to The Information, Stripe has tripled its risk and compliance headcount to 700 employees over the past two years.
The area with the most regulatory scrutiny has been crypto, which was a notoriously challenging area for companies to operate during the Biden administration. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation recently released internal records obtained via FOIA requests, revealing that regulators had sent “pause letters” urging banks to reconsider relationships with crypto firms.
Trump has made a point of loosening restrictions on crypto, and one of his first actions as president was to sign an executive order to promote the advancement of cryptocurrencies in the U.S. and work toward potentially developing a national digital asset stockpile
Stripe made its biggest jump into crypto with the closing this month of its $1.1 billion purchase of Bridge, a provider of stablecoin infrastructure. Stripe’s goal with the deal is to enable more payments via crypto, as Bridge focuses on making it easier for businesses to accept stablecoin payments without having to directly deal in digital tokens.
In its annual letter, Stripe said that stablecoin transactions more than doubled between the fourth quarter of 2023 and the same period last year.
“The fundamentals for stablecoin adoption have only recently fallen into place, enabling the explosive growth we now see,” the company wrote.
— CNBC’s Ari Levy contributed to this report.
WATCH: CNBC’s full interview with Stripe co-founder and president John Collison
On today’s exciting episode of Quick Charge, we don’t even mention “you know who,” focusing instead on EV news from Rivian, Lucid, Nissan, Ford, and what it takes to make a MAN in the heavy truck space. Check it out!
Sure, Nissan is pushing back production estimates on its yet-to-begin-production Nissan LEAF and Ford’s EV sales were down significantly in Q2, but there’s more to the story than the “Faux News” crowd would have you believe. Plus: some new electric success stories from Porsche and a disappointing (but still cool) dive into some new home backup battery tech.
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he 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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Battery electric cars sold today in Europe produce 73% less life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions than gas cars, even when factoring in production, according to new research from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). That’s a big improvement from 2021, when the gap was 59%.
Meanwhile, hybrids and plug-in hybrids haven’t made much progress. The study confirms what clean transportation advocates have been saying for years: If Europe wants to seriously slash emissions from its dirtiest mode of transport – ICE passenger cars, which pump out nearly 75% of the sector’s pollution – it needs to go all-in on battery EVs.
“Battery electric cars in Europe are getting cleaner faster than we expected and outperform all other technologies, including hybrids and plug-in hybrids,” said ICCT researcher Dr. Marta Negri. Credit the continent’s rapid shift to renewables and the higher energy efficiency of EVs.
The makeup of the EU’s power grid is changing fast. By 2025, renewables are expected to generate 56% of Europe’s electricity, up from 38% in 2020. And that’s just the beginning: the share could hit 86% by 2045. Since cars bought today could still be on the road two decades from now, the growing use of clean electricity will only boost EVs’ climate benefits over time.
Gas-powered cars, on the other hand, will stay mostly tied to fossil fuels as the cost and availability of biofuels and e-fuels are still uncertain.
Hybrids and plug-in hybrids only cut lifetime emissions by 20% and 30%, respectively, compared to gas cars. That’s partly because plug-in hybrids tend to run on gas more than expected. So while hybrids aren’t useless, they’re just not good enough if we’re serious about climate goals.
Countering EV myths with hard data
There’s been a lot of noise lately about whether EVs are really that green. The ICCT study takes aim at the bad data and misleading claims floating around, like ignoring how the grid gets cleaner over time or using unrealistic gas mileage figures.
It’s true that manufacturing EVs creates more emissions upfront – about 40% more than making a gas car, mostly due to the battery. But EVs make up for it quickly: that extra emissions load is usually wiped out after about 17,000 km (10,563 miles) of driving, which most drivers hit in a year or two.
“We’ve recently seen auto industry leaders misrepresenting the emissions math on hybrids,” said Dr. Georg Bieker, senior researcher at the ICCT. “But life-cycle analysis is not a choose-your-own-adventure exercise.”
ICCT’s new analysis includes emissions from vehicle and battery production and recycling, fuel and electricity production, and fuel consumption and maintenance. It even adjusts for how the electricity mix will change in the coming years – a key detail when measuring plug-in hybrid performance.
Read more: Volkswagen’s 47% BEV sales jump includes a 24% boost in the US
The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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![Here's our closest look at the Kia EV2 caught testing in the Alps [Video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/Kia-EV2-closest-look.jpeg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
The EV2 may be Kia’s smallest electric vehicle, but it has a big presence on the road. Kia promises it won’t feel so small when you’re inside, thanks to clever storage and flexible seating. After a prototype was spotted testing in the Alps, we are getting our closest look at the Kia EV2 so far.
Kia EV2 spotted in the Alps offers our closest look yet
Kia first unveiled the Concept EV2 during its 2025 EV Day event (see our recap of the event) in April, a preview of its upcoming entry-level electric SUV.
Despite its small size, Kia claims it will “redefine urban electric mobility” with new innovative features and more. Kia has yet to say exactly how big it will be, but given it will sit below the EV3, it’s expected to be around 4,000 mm (157″) in length. The EV3 is 4,300 mm (169.3″) in length.
Looking at it from the side, it sits much higher than you’d expect, similar to Kia’s larger EV9. During an exclusive event at Milan Design Week in April, Kia gave a sneak peek of the interior.
Kia said the interior is inspired by a “picnic in the city,” or in other words, a retreat from the busy city life. With a flat-floor design and flexible seating, you can quite literally have a picnic in the city.
Although we’ve seen the EV2 out in public testing a few times, a new video provides the closest look at Kia’s upcoming electric SUV.
The video, courtesy of CarSpyMedia, shows an EV2 prototype testing in the Alps with European license plates. There’s also a “Testfahrt” sticker on the back, which translates to “Test Car” in German.
As the prototype drives by, you can get a good look at it from all angles. Like in past sightings, the front features stacked vertical headlights with Kia’s signature Star Map lighting. Even the rear lights appear to be identical to those of the concept.
The interior will feature Kia’s next-gen ccNC (connected car Navigation Cockpit) infotainment system. The setup includes dual 12.3″ instrument clusters and infotainment screens in a curved panoramic display. Depending on the model, it could also include an added 5.3″ climate control screen.
Last month, a crossover coupe-like model was spotted on a car carrier in Korea, hinting at a new variant. The new model featured a design similar to that of the Genesis GV60.
Kia’s CEO, Ho Sung Song, also recently told Autocar that a smaller, more affordable EV was in the works to sit below the EV2. Song said the new EV, priced under €25,000 ($30,000), was “one area we are studying and developing.”
With the EV4 and EV5 launching this year, followed by the EV2 in 2026, it could be closer toward the end of the decade before we see it hit the market. Next-gen EV6 and EV9 models are also due out around then.
The Kia EV2 is set to launch in Europe and other global regions in 2026. Unfortunately, it’s not expected to make the trip to the US.
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