I have to believe this is Stripe leadership pumping up the revenues/profits to look peachy for their IPO, so they can all get a considerable exit while raising a war chest - meanwhile competitors will come along and try to take market share while Stripe can spend more on acquisitions and feature development for the same price. I think this play as part of the VC industrial complex leaves them more vulnerable than is obvious - but leadership won't ultimately care because they're set for generations.

If the Stripe leadership wanted to exit and be set for generations they could’ve done it years ago. I agree it could be a revenue boost to prepare for IPO but this isn’t some personal greed thing

Personal greed doesn't magically end just because you want $5 billion instead of $1 billion. Greed is greed even if the only point of it is having a larger number in your bank account or higher social standing from it.

Agree, it's collective greed