The Stablecoin Ledger This Week: Big Retail Eyes Crypto Payments

There’s a revolution under way, with proponents heralding it as a reimagination of what money is and how it moves.

We’re talking about stablecoins: tokenized assets on the blockchain whose value is pegged to traditional currencies, most often the U.S. dollar.

Amazon is exploring issuing its own digital dollar. So is Walmart. Shopify has begun letting merchants accept stablecoins like USDC. Coinbase is offering crypto-native operating accounts for businesses. Circle, one of the largest stablecoin issuers, is now live on six different blockchains. Even Ant Group and Société Générale — pillars of Asia and Europe’s financial ecosystems — are building stablecoin products or licensing operations. All this, while the U.S. Senate advances the GENIUS Act, the most consequential crypto legislation to date.

Welcome to the stablecoin economy, a movement as consequential as the internet boom and as disruptive as the arrival of credit cards.

See also: The Stablecoin Ledger This Week: Circle’s IPO, Cross-Border Banking, Monetary Risks

Retailers Eye Their Own Stablecoins

Amazon and Walmart are reportedly exploring launching their own branded stablecoins. While details remain sparse, internal teams at both companies are allegedly assessing how digital tokens could be used for faster settlement, reduced transaction fees and enhanced loyalty ecosystems.

The financial case is compelling. U.S. retailers paid more than $160 billion in card processing fees in 2022 alone. A proprietary stablecoin system could bypass these intermediaries, freeing up billions in working capital and providing unprecedented visibility into transaction flows.

This vision isn’t new. Retailers have tried to dislodge the card networks before — remember the Merchant Customer Exchange? But the difference now is technological maturity. Stablecoins operate on blockchain networks, meaning they can settle instantly, 24/7, anywhere in the world.

If Walmart issues a stablecoin that’s accepted at point of sale and online, for example, they’re not just cutting costs. They’re creating a closed-loop economy where value never has to leave their system.

While the retail giants explore issuing coins, infrastructure players like Shopify and Coinbase are making stablecoin payments practical for small businesses and online stores.

In a quiet but significant move, Shopify is now enabling merchants to accept USDC, the second-largest stablecoin, via the Base blockchain — a Layer 2 solution built by Coinbase. It’s fast, low-cost and already deeply embedded in Shopify’s checkout stack.

Meanwhile, Coinbase has launched its crypto-native business account, offering a “crypto operating system” for startups and small businesses. It integrates crypto payments, custody, yield and conversion tools, with zero fees on incoming transactions.

Read more: Making Sense of Where Stablecoins Fit in the Issuer-Merchant-Acquirer Stack

Stablecoins as New Form of Corporate Infrastructure

Behind the scenes, stablecoin issuance is becoming a strategic asset. Circle, the now-publicly traded issuer of USDC, continues expanding aggressively. It now supports issuance across six blockchains, most recently adding Ripple’s XRP Ledger. This move gives Circle access to XRP’s global liquidity network and its reputation for low-cost, cross-border transactions.

Meanwhile, Ant Group’s international affiliate is seeking stablecoin licenses in Singapore and Hong Kong, aiming to launch regionally compliant digital currency products. With regulators in Asia warming to digital finance frameworks, Ant sees an opportunity to reassert its payments dominance abroad.

In Europe, Société Générale’s digital asset arm launched the continent’s first euro and dollar-pegged stablecoins backed by a traditional bank. The USD version — called CoinVertible — will go live on Ethereum and Solana, using BNY Mellon as a custodian. Unlike privately issued coins, it’s fully regulated under France’s crypto asset regime, designed for institutional payments.

In short: stablecoins are no longer just a crypto phenomenon. They are rapidly becoming a new form of corporate infrastructure, deployed by banks, retailers and governments alike.

Private issuers aren’t the only ones innovating. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has launched Project Agora, a consortium involving multiple central banks to explore a new digital payment system for cross-border transactions.

Rather than using stablecoins or cryptocurrencies, Project Agora envisions a tokenized fiat system that’s programmable, interoperable and controlled by central authorities. It’s designed for wholesale use — bank-to-bank settlement, rather than consumer payments.

The project underscores a philosophical divide: Should the future of digital money be built by private companies or public institutions?

Despite the momentum, stablecoins carry real risks. Regulatory gaps still exist, and Financial Stability Board Chair Klaas Knot has warned this week that stablecoins represent “a segment we must monitor closely,” pointing to their increasing use by retail and institutional players alike.