Stripe has announced that it agreed to acquire OpenRouter. Neither company has announced that the deal has closed, and neither has announced any change to how OpenRouter takes payments. This page separates what is official from what is only reported, and it will be updated if the payment method changes. ROZO is independent and is not affiliated with OpenRouter, Stripe or Coinbase.
What actually happened, in three stages
There are three separate questions: was a deal announced, is there an agreement, and has it closed. Here is what the official record shows for each as of 20 October 2026.
- Announced agreement: yes, official. On 19 August 2026 Stripe's newsroom said Stripe "has agreed to acquire OpenRouter". OpenRouter's own blog post, "OpenRouter is Joining Stripe", was published the same day.
- Agreement: Stripe's wording, "has agreed to acquire", describes an agreement, and Bloomberg reported that Stripe "has finalized an agreement to acquire" OpenRouter. Neither company has published the terms, and the price is not official. Media reports put it at about $7.5 billion (The New York Times, as cited by other outlets) or above $7 billion (Bloomberg).
- Completed closing: no official confirmation found. OpenRouter's post says the transaction "is subject to customary closing conditions" and that the companies "expect to close in the coming weeks". As of 20 October 2026 we found no closing announcement on Stripe's newsroom or OpenRouter's blog. A few smaller outlets have described the deal as completed, but they cite unnamed sources or other reports, not a statement from either company.
What OpenRouter says will not change: its name, product, roadmap and mission, and existing integrations. Neither announcement mentions crypto, Coinbase or the credits checkout.
How OpenRouter takes crypto today
OpenRouter's FAQ, checked on 20 October 2026, lists credit cards, AliPay and cryptocurrency payments in USDC. For standard accounts it lists a 5% fee on crypto purchases and a 5.5% fee ($0.80 minimum) on card purchases; OpenRouter's pricing page lists different rates for Business and Enterprise plans. The fee on your own purchase is the one OpenRouter shows when you buy. The FAQ also states that crypto payments are never refundable.
Card payments already run through Stripe; the FAQ refers to "the Stripe integration". Crypto payments go through a Coinbase-hosted payment page. OpenRouter's crypto path has a $10 minimum, as described in our guide to which coins OpenRouter accepts.
So the acquisition has not, so far, moved crypto top-ups from Coinbase to Stripe. Stripe does have its own stablecoin product: its documentation says customers are sent to crypto.stripe.com to pay with USDC on Tempo, Ethereum, Solana, Polygon or Base. Whether OpenRouter will ever switch to it is not something either company has said. We will not guess.
How to top up OpenRouter with crypto right now
- In OpenRouter, open Credits, choose Add credits, pick the crypto option and copy the payment link it generates. Both link formats work: payments.coinbase.com/payment-links/pl_* and payments.coinbase.com/payment-sessions/paymentSession_*.
- Open checkout.rozo.ai and paste the link.
- Choose a coin and network you hold: USDC or USDT on Solana, Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon or Arbitrum; USDC on Base or Stellar; native ETH, BNB, SOL or POL; or Bitcoin over Lightning. The live checkout is the final word on what is available for your order.
- Send the exact amount shown, on the network shown, before the quote expires. ROZO charges a 1% service fee, shown before you pay.
- Wait for ROZO to detect the funds and settle the Coinbase link, then check your OpenRouter credits.
Ethereum works, but its gas is out of proportion on a $10 to $20 top up; Lightning, Solana, Base and BNB Chain are cheaper choices. If you pay with USDC on Base from a wallet, the official Coinbase page still works as it always has. ROZO is for when the coin or network you hold is not the one the Coinbase page takes.
Sources (checked 20 October 2026)
- Stripe newsroom, "Stripe agrees to acquire OpenRouter to help businesses optimize token routing and usage" (official): https://stripe.com/newsroom/news/stripe-agrees-to-acquire-openrouter
- OpenRouter blog, "OpenRouter is Joining Stripe" (official): https://openrouter.ai/blog/announcements/openrouter-is-joining-stripe
- OpenRouter FAQ, payment methods and fees (official): https://openrouter.ai/docs/faq
- OpenRouter pricing, plan fees (official): https://openrouter.ai/pricing
- Stripe docs, Stablecoin payments (official): https://docs.stripe.com/crypto/stablecoins
- Stripe newsroom index, no closing item after 19 August 2026 (official): https://stripe.com/newsroom
- CNBC, 19 August 2026 (media report): https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/19/stripe-openrouter-fintech-ai-model-marketplace-.html
- Bloomberg Government, price above $7 billion (media report): https://news.bgov.com/mergers-and-acquisitions/stripe-nears-deal-to-buy-ai-firm-openrouter-for-over-7-billion