Stablecoins go mainstream: Why banks and credit card firms are issuing their own crypto tokens
Stablecoins — once a niche corner of the cryptocurrency world — are entering the corporate and policy mainstream, potentially reshaping how money moves in the United States and around the world.
"Many of the users out there today are not aware of stablecoins, or not interested in stablecoins, and they should not be," said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal's SVP of blockchain, crypto and digital currencies. "It should just be a way in which you move value, and in many cases, is going to be an infrastructure layer."
For corporations, stablecoins are an opportunity to slash millions in transaction fees and turbocharge payment infrastructure with instantaneous settlement.
USDC issuer Circle's long-awaited public debut exposed a wave of pent-up demand for digital dollars as investors sent the stock soaring as much as 750% in June. Partnerships, and competition, quickly followed.
Coinbase announced a deal with e-commerce platform Shopify to bring USDC payments to merchants. Payments firm Fiserv announced a stablecoin to pair with the 90 billion transactions it processes every year.
"We're entering the utility phase right now, where the technology has matured. It's gotten fast, it's gotten cheap," said Jesse Pollak, head of base and wallet at Coinbase. "It's gotten easy to use, and that's leading to real-world adoption across businesses and consumers."
Base is Coinbase's Ethereum layer-2 network, designed to make blockchain applications faster, cheaper, and more accessible to developers and users.
Merchants are a particular focus for stablecoins, as payment processing fees for these businesses totaled a record $187.2 billion in 2024, according to the Nilson Report. Payment companies are looking to fend off potential disruption by stablecoin issuers.
Mastercard this week announced support for four stablecoins on its Multi-Token Network. The private blockchain is targeted toward institutions and promises 24-hour settlement.
Visa's CEO told CNBC the payment processor is modernizing its infrastructure with the help of stablecoins.
"Visa and MasterCard are leaning into the disruption," said Nic Carter, founding partner at Castle Island Ventures. "They're trying to disrupt themselves, so they seem to be ahead of the curve."
JPMorgan took a slightly different approach to the crypto token boom on Wall Street. The financial giant launched a token backed by commercial bank deposits rather than U.S. dollars.
JPMorgan's Naveen Mallela, global co-head of Kinexys, the bank's blockchain unit, told CNBC the JPMD token would allow for round-the-clock settlement for institutional clients looking for faster, cheaper transactions while staying connected to the traditional banking system.
The boom in crypto adoption on Wall Street is bolstered by growing support in Washington.
The Senate passed its framework of rules for stablecoins, called the GENIUS Act. The bill includes guidelines for consumer protections, reserve requirements for issuers, and anti-money laundering guidance.
Stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies have faced criticism for their use in illicit activity, and some Democrats argue the bill doesn't do enough to address those concerns. Those lawmakers also argue the bill doesn't curtail conflicts of interest, including the recent launch of a stablecoin tied to President Donald Trump through World Liberty Financial.
The crypto-focused firm run by his family is behind the dollar-pegged token USD1.
When asked about Trump's ties to crypto projects in his name, the White House told CNBC there are no conflicts of interest and the president's assets are in a trust managed by his children.
"I think it was a mistake for Trump to have a Trump-affiliated DeFi project issue a stablecoin. I think that really set back his stablecoin legislative agenda," Carter said. "I think we could do it a lot more in terms of tackling these conflicts of interest. And I completely understand the Democrats when they try and weed this out."
Watch the video above to learn why corporate giants are racing to launch their own crypto tokens
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