Stripe.com, the $1.7bn (€1.2bn)-valued online payments company which was set up by high-flying Limerick brothers Patrick and John Collison, may be about to move into the fast-growing Bitcoin market.

The Collison brothers, who sold their first company for €2.3m when still teenagers, have developed San Francisco-headquartered Stripe.com into one of the hottest start-ups in the payment tech space.

Last week, Stripe revealed it was testing a Bitcoin support feature on its service.

Stripe, which has been backed by Elon Musk – the inspiration for Iron Man in the Marvel blockbusters – as well as PayPal founder Peter Thiel, was recently valued at $1.7bn after a funding round.

The potential move into Bitcoin may give Stripe.com exposure to the fast-growing virtual currency. More and more Irish retailers, including Dublin's Baggot Inn, are accepting Bitcoin as payment.

Sunday Indo Business