Americans Will Put Money In Amazon And Walmart Stablecoins

Forbes

10 hours ago

HONG KONG, CHINA: An advertisement featuring Donald Trump with Solana, XRP, USDC Bitcoin in Hong ... More Kong. (Photo by May James/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
OBSERVATIONS FROM THE FINTECH SNARK TANK
Stablecoins were once a crypto curiosity. With the passing of the GENIUS Act, they're now a legitimate threat—or opportunity—depending on your perspective. The Act lays the groundwork for a new regulatory regime around these digital assets.
JPMorgan Chase has already filed a trademark for a digital deposit token, signaling its intent to create a bank-issued stablecoin product. For other banks, the Act raises urgent questions: 1) Should it support the regulation? 2) How will stablecoins impact deposits, operations, and financial risk? and 3) Should the bank issue its own stablecoin?
The GENIUS Act at a Glance
The GENIUS Act aims to bring regulatory clarity to stablecoins by establishing licensing requirements, setting capital and liquidity standards, and placing supervision under the Federal Reserve and other regulators. Key provisions include:
Amazon and Walmart Stablecoins: Threat to Bank Deposits?
Stablecoins could divert significant transaction volume—and core deposits—away from banks as retailers, fintechs, and Big Techs issue branded stablecoins that lead consumers to move cash into stablecoins for convenience, rewards, or programmability.
In this scenario, stablecoins become functional equivalents of bank deposits—but without the FDIC insurance, relationship ties, or regulatory protections banks provide.
This risk isn't theoretical: Deposit displacement has been happening for years. A new study from Cornerstone Advisors found that $2.15 trillion has already left banks for fintech investment accounts--65% of which has come from Gen Xers and Baby Boomers. This is on top of the estimated $10 billion that Americans have sitting in merchant mobile apps like Starbucks' in any given week.
JPMorgan's Stablecoin Response: JPMD Deposit Token
JPMD is initially designed for institutional clients and will be issued on Coinbase's Base blockchain, targeting on‑chain settlements and cross-border B2B transfers. Kinexys, JPMorgan's blockchain arm, markets the stablecoin as a 'deposit token'—a fully insured, interest‑bearing digital representation of bank deposits—making it easy to reconcile with existing banking operations.
Unlike other stablecoins backed by Treasuries, JPMD is a tokenized claim on JPMorgan deposits, integrating deposit insurance and liquidity. Launched just as the GENIUS Act passed the Senate, JPMD highlights JPMorgan's positioning under the new stablecoin framework: 1) 100% reserve backing; 2) monthly disclosures; and 3) regulated issuance.
By issuing tokenized bank money instead of a traditional stablecoin, JPMorgan safeguards its deposit base, ensuring it remains on‑balance‑sheet and insured. The deposit token effectively blends digital currency innovation with traditional banking strength: insured, interest-bearing, and blockchain-enabled.
Cons of the GENIUS Act for Banks
JPMD positions JPMorgan for future growth in digital settlements and institutional digital asset operations. Other banks are watching closely because JPMD may soon set the standard for what a 'bank-issued stablecoin' really looks like. For the rest of the industry, there are pros and cons to the new regulations. The downsides:
Pros of the GENIUS Act for Banks
There are positives, however, from a bank perspective:
And as payments expert Tom Noyes writes:
'The idea that stablecoins are inherently cost disruptive needs a reality check. Most regulators will likely view a bank's role in stablecoin issuance and transmission through a lens similar to that of real-time payments. Anyone claiming that stablecoins will operate at a significantly lower cost fundamentally misunderstands the operational and regulatory realities of banking.'
Stablecoins' Operational and Risk Considerations
The decision on what banks should do about stablecoins can't be made without assessing various types of risk the cryptocurrency introduces include:
How Banks Should React to the GENIUS Act
Whether or not a bank chooses to issue its own stablecoin, the adoption of tokenized money is inevitable. The question is no longer if stablecoins will affect deposit bases--it's how much and who controls them. Here's how banks can prepare:
Banks must weigh the trade-offs: the opportunity to innovate versus the risk of disintermediation. The cost of inaction may not be reputational—it may be financial erosion as tech-native alternatives capture consumer funds.
For banks who act, the GENIUS Act, and Amazon and Walmart stablecoins, aren't threats--they're a blueprint.