a16z: Recent Key Events of Traditional Finance Embracing Stablecoins
There is a common core behind these events: meeting user needs.Author: a16zcrypto
Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow
We have mentioned multiple times that stablecoins are gradually disrupting the payment industry. Looking back at the past month, many top payment companies around the world have finally begun to focus on this trend. In just six weeks, we have seen a series of significant events: Circle, the issuer of USDC, submitted an application to list on the New York Stock Exchange; Coinbase launched a stablecoin API payment standard, officially entering the agency payment field; Visa and Mastercard further strengthened their support for stablecoins; and Stripe released a series of new features, including stablecoin account balances, programmable stablecoins, and payment cards that support stablecoins.
There is a common core behind these events: meeting user needs. It can be seen as the "Skype moment" in the payment field. Looking back to 2003, Skype launched a disruptive feature—allowing users to make calls to landlines at a lower cost via their computers. However, as more people joined the digital calling network, people eventually completely abandoned traditional phones in favor of internet-based WhatsApp calls. This marked a seamless transition of technology from landlines to mobile communication and then to internet-based voice and data connections.
Similarly, connecting stablecoins with traditional payment systems can allow more people to access and use stablecoins, even if they still need to rely on compatible features provided by traditional payment companies. As individuals and businesses gradually adopt stablecoins through existing products, new opportunities will emerge—stablecoins will be widely used in scenarios such as self-custody, shopping, remittances, and DeFi.
Here is a timeline of key events from the past six weeks and their significance in the larger picture:
May 7 and 8: Stripe Launches Stablecoin Financial Accounts
Stripe announced the launch of "Stablecoin Financial Accounts," allowing business users to hold account balances in stablecoins across 101 countries. Additionally, they released USDB, a programmable stablecoin that developers can embed into their applications and earn rewards by building the USDB ecosystem.
Why is it important?
Stripe promotes the adoption of stablecoins by directly embedding incentive mechanisms at the stablecoin level and attempts to gain more control over the payment ecosystem. The stablecoin financial accounts allow Stripe to bypass the complex processes and high fees of traditional banks, competing directly with banks and card networks. The number of supported countries has also expanded from 46 to 101. USDB may become the default stablecoin for Stripe products, providing more ways for payment monetization.
These initiatives enable Stripe to leverage a neutral blockchain infrastructure rather than traditional card networks, offering products that are cheaper, more customizable, broader in coverage, and more profitable.
May 7: MoneyGram Launches "MoneyGram Ramps"
MoneyGram launched "MoneyGram Ramps," a cash deposit and withdrawal channel supporting stablecoins, covering over 170 countries.
Why is it important?
Stablecoins have found a certain market fit in emerging markets, especially in areas with high remittance demand. However, converting between stablecoins and cash remains quite difficult, and cash is still a widely used payment method in many markets. MoneyGram has a global cash network, providing a new way for stablecoins to interoperate with everyday consumption and spending.
May 6: Coinbase Releases x402 Payment Standard
Coinbase launched x402, a stablecoin payment standard designed for internet-native payments, aiming to achieve atomic transactions between APIs, applications, and AI agents.
Why is it important?
You may not know that Visa cannot process payments less than 1 cent. The future of "agent payments"—transactions executed on behalf of users by autonomous software agents—requires programmable currency to be realized. If we want these agents to purchase goods or services for us, stablecoins will be the ideal choice.
Companies like Stripe and Visa are exploring their own agent payment solutions, and stablecoins are favored for their foundation on trusted, neutral, and decentralized platforms. In contrast, decentralized protocols do not have high fees, and in the long run, stablecoins may be the most economical choice. The x402 standard integrates stablecoin settlement, intent-based payments, and compliance into a single specification, far surpassing Visa and SWIFT in speed, composability, and programmability.
May 6: Visa Forms Strategic Partnership with BVNK
Visa announced a strategic partnership with stablecoin payment infrastructure company BVNK.
Why is it important?
Visa's partnership can be seen as a bet on stablecoin payment infrastructure, directly engaging in a payment track that could disrupt its existing business model. By collaborating with BVNK, Visa can not only counter Stripe's expanding stablecoin payment products but also secure a place in the future payment ecosystem.
Visa's strategy is quite clever: it is expected that other traditional payment companies will follow suit, or they risk being left behind by startups dominating stablecoin payments.
April 28 and 30: Mastercard and Visa Launch Stablecoin Payment Products
On April 28, Mastercard announced partnerships with several exchanges and wallets, including Circle, OKX, and Paxos, to launch broader stablecoin integrations, allowing consumers to spend stablecoin balances via Mastercard cards. Two days later, Visa announced a collaboration with Bridge, supported by Stripe, allowing fintech developers to issue Visa cards linked to stablecoins, enabling users to pay with stablecoin balances at fiat points of sale through the Visa network.
Why is it important?
These products significantly lower the barrier for users to adopt stablecoins through integration with existing payment systems. Users do not need to worry about whether merchants support stablecoin payments; they can simply use their linked Visa or Mastercard to complete payments.
Although stablecoin cards achieve compatibility with traditional payment infrastructure, in the future, merchants may prefer to accept stablecoin payments directly to avoid high card processing fees. At the same time, entrepreneurs will develop more new products, making stablecoins a more preferred payment method.
April 23: PayPal Announces 3.7% Yield
PayPal announced that starting in 2025, U.S. users holding PYUSD in their PayPal or Venmo balances will earn a 3.7% yield.
Why is it important?
PayPal aims to attract more deposits, even if those deposits may exist in MetaMask. By offering a yield, they incentivize users to buy and hold stablecoins on their platform, while the use of PYUSD outside the platform can also generate more revenue for PayPal. The yield is just the first step; more measures to drive PYUSD transaction volume and integration may follow.
April 21: Circle Launches Circle Payments Network
Circle announced partnerships with several global banks and stablecoin startups to launch the Circle Payments Network to improve international payments.
Why is it important?
Circle directly challenges SWIFT and traditional banking networks, attempting to replace their inefficient messaging services and payment processes. If successful, this initiative could fundamentally change the landscape of international payments.
April 1: Circle Files for IPO
Circle submitted an application to list on the New York Stock Exchange, marking further recognition of the legitimacy of stablecoin payments.
Conclusion
Traditional payment companies not only recognize the value of stablecoins but are also actively building critical infrastructure to enable stablecoins to be compatible with existing payment systems, thereby accelerating their adoption. Although these products may seem similar to traditional payment methods in the short term, they are actually laying the groundwork for a completely new on-chain economy.
In the future, we will see more people using stablecoins through traditional payment methods, and the infrastructure improvements launched this year will further drive users to adopt stablecoins directly. As the integration of stablecoins becomes simpler and more intuitive, network effects will also emerge: more entrepreneurs will develop a range of innovative products based on stablecoins, which can only be realized in an environment of nearly instant, nearly free programmable currency.
