Why Big Tech Is Suddenly Obsessed with Stablecoins
But split into 2 camps - adopters vs issuers
Something's up. Suddenly, everyone from Apple to Amazon, Uber to Airbnb — even Meta (again) — is poking around stablecoins.
Meta’s re-entry is especially dramatic. In 2019, they tried to launch Libra (later renamed Diem), a grand vision of a global stablecoin. It failed spectacularly — crushed by regulators, abandoned by partners, and eventually pronounced dead.
But Meta’s back. This time, with a very different playbook.
Instead of issuing their own coin, Meta is now exploring how to adopt existing stablecoins like USDC for cross-border payments — especially for creators and microtransactions. No more empire-building. Just better rails.
But what’s going on with the other tech giants?
These aren’t crypto startups. These are some of the biggest companies in the world. And yet, they're converging on a piece of infrastructure most people still associate with speculative trading. That should tell you something.
Let’s break down what they’re doing (besides Meta):
Uber — a former member of the original Libra coalition — is exploring stablecoins to streamline cross-border payouts. The CEO called it “super interesting,” which in CEO-speak is basically a green light. Cross-border payments have always been painful: high fees, slow settlement, compliance friction. Uber’s business depends on fast, global cash flow. Stablecoins could offer an elegant fix.
Airbnb is in talks with Worldpay about accepting stablecoins to shave down card fees. Every Airbnb transaction touches at least one card/payment network, often more. Stablecoins offer an opportunity to compress that fee stack.
Apple, Google, and X are reportedly exploring integrations to make payments faster and cheaper inside their ecosystems. Apple Pay and Google Pay already command significant share of checkout traffic. A stablecoin layer would lower infrastructure costs and open up programmable payment features.
Walmart is mulling its own stablecoin—think "Walmart Coin" for store payments and loyalty. With tens of millions of shoppers and a massive cash flow engine, Walmart could do for stablecoins what Starbucks did for app-based loyalty wallets — but on a much bigger scale.
Amazon is doing the same. They already have “Amazon Coins” for apps, but now they want to go full-stack with a USD-backed coin for e-commerce. Prime, AWS, FBA — all massive ecosystems that could benefit from a unified internal money layer.
That’s a lot of movement. But it’s not all the same kind of movement. These companies fall into two camps:
Two Strategic Camps: Adoption vs. Issuance
Adopters: Meta, Uber, Airbnb, Apple, Google, and X want to plug into existing stablecoins like USDC or PYUSD.
Issuers: Walmart and Amazon are thinking about building their own. Full control. Closed-loop. Branded digital dollars.
Why the split? Why isn’t everyone doing the same thing?
Why Platforms Just Want to Adopt
Let’s zoom in on the adopters: platforms that act as intermediaries — connecting drivers to riders, hosts to guests, users to services. Uber, Airbnb, and increasingly Apple Pay and Google Pay fall into this category.
They don’t want to reinvent the financial system. They just want better rails.
They’re not banks. Their business is about liquidity, matchmaking, and trust. Not issuing assets.
USDC already works. Why spend millions on token economics, custody, or compliance when you can integrate a widely-used, battle-tested stablecoin?
They have a payout problem. Uber needs to pay drivers in dozens of countries. Airbnb has hosts in rural Argentina and suburban Vietnam. Traditional rails are slow and expensive. Stablecoins reduce payout friction.
It’s a light lift. They can plug into a Stripe, Worldpay, or Fireblocks and be live in weeks — no blockchain infra needed.
Avoids the regulatory mess. Issuing a coin triggers a whole new level of scrutiny. By adopting existing stablecoins, the issuer (e.g., Circle, Paxos) handles reserve management, audits, and licensing.
Plus, there’s cultural alignment. These companies optimize for velocity. Why build a central bank when you can just route payments smarter?
Why Platforms Just Want to Adopt
Now let’s look at the adopters. These are platforms like Meta, Uber, Airbnb, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and X. They’re all exploring stablecoins — but as a feature, not a foundation.
Here’s why adoption makes sense for them:
They have real payment pain. Platforms deal with high-frequency, cross-border payouts — drivers, hosts, creators, contractors. Traditional rails are slow and expensive. Stablecoins are cheaper and faster. The business case writes itself.
They don’t want to hold balances. Their users want to cash out, not store money. There’s no incentive to preload or linger. Float is low or nonexistent. Issuing a coin just to watch it exit instantly? Not worth it.
Their users aren’t loyal to a wallet. These platforms don’t capture daily payment mindshare like a Starbucks app or Apple Wallet. They’re transactional, not habitual. Building a closed-loop coin makes no sense when you can't control the loop.
They already have great options. Stablecoins like USDC and PYUSD are liquid, regulated, and increasingly integrated into fintech APIs. Stripe, Worldpay, Circle — they’ve done the heavy lifting. Platforms just need to plug in.
Issuance opens a can of worms. Creating a coin isn’t just a branding exercise. It’s balance sheet risk, regulatory scrutiny, reserve audits, treasury ops, and licensing overhead. For what gain? Platforms want lean infrastructure, not financial complexity.
It’s not their identity. These companies win by moving fast and abstracting away financial friction — not by becoming financial institutions. Issuing a coin means becoming the rail. Adoption means riding the best one available.
For platforms, stablecoins are tactical. Not a moat, not a product. Just a smarter payment rail they can rent instead of build.
Why Retail Giants Want to Issue Their Own Coin
Then there’s Walmart and Amazon. Their move is fundamentally different. They don’t just want better rails — they want to own the rails.
Fees are killing them. Card processing fees alone eat billions in margin every year. Owning the payment layer means they keep more of every dollar.
Loyalty gets supercharged. Closed-loop coins can be tied to reward programs, coupons, promos, even Prime memberships. Spend Amazon Coin, get more Amazon Coin. Flywheel unlocked.
Data goldmine. They already know what you buy. Now they know how you pay. That’s a powerful combo for personalized offers and upselling.
Control and brand. This isn’t USDC. It’s Amazon’s currency. That’s powerful — internally and maybe externally if adoption spreads.
Programmability. Stablecoins can embed rules. Discounts only valid for certain users. Coin expiration dates. Bundled purchases. These tools turn payments into a growth lever.
Float as a bonus. Most e-commerce shoppers don’t preload balances, but there are meaningful edge cases — gift cards, refunds, promotional credits. Over time, loyalty-driven balances could build up. Not massive float, but enough to earn yield on some locked capital. Especially relevant for B2B sellers, AWS credits, or longer-tail refunds.
To them, stablecoins aren’t just a payments feature. They’re infrastructure — a way to turn cash flow into strategy. They’re infrastructure — a way to turn cash flow into strategy.
Why Platforms Don’t Bother Issuing
If issuing a coin is such a strategic move, why don’t Uber or Airbnb do it? Why not “Uber Coin” or “Airbnb Bucks”?
Because the economics, product dynamics, and user behavior don’t support it.
They don’t retain capital in the system. Riders pay, drivers withdraw. Guests book, hosts get paid. The value comes in and goes out. There’s no float to earn yield on.
No incentive to hold. These platforms aren’t daily financial touchpoints. There’s no compelling reason for users to keep money in-platform like they might with Starbucks or Apple Cash. No hold, no leverage.
They don’t control spend behavior. Unlike retailers, platforms don’t own the rest of the spend journey. Uber can’t incentivize you to shop, save, or reinvest earnings inside its own closed loop. Without spend-side control, a coin is just an unnecessary middle step.
Building a coin is a regulatory headache. Becoming an issuer comes with compliance overhead: reserve audits, money transmission licenses, risk disclosures. For what? To solve a problem that already has off-the-shelf solutions?
It doesn’t match their DNA. Platforms optimize for liquidity and scale, not financial system complexity. Launching a coin turns them into de facto banks — a role that drags them far outside their lane.
Bottom line: issuing your own currency only makes sense if you can trap and recirculate value. Platform companies don’t. So they adopt. It’s faster, cheaper, and better aligned with their core model.
Why Adoption Isn’t Enough for Walmart or Amazon
So why don’t Amazon or Walmart just plug into USDC like everyone else?
Because adoption solves a problem — but not the one they care most about.
Adoption cuts some costs. Yes, using stablecoins like USDC might save on interchange or FX fees at the edges. But that’s a margin game. These companies aren’t trying to save 20 basis points. They’re trying to reshape how money flows through their ecosystem.
Issuance gives them full control. With their own coin, they can dictate fees, rules, reward mechanics, and redemption logic. They become the network — not just another participant on someone else’s rails.
Loyalty is the real play. A branded coin isn’t just a way to pay. It’s a mechanism to lock in spend, reward engagement, and deepen customer lifetime value. The coin becomes a behavioral moat.
First-party data at the payment layer. When Amazon controls the currency, they get insight into not just what you buy, but how and when you spend. That’s a massive unlock for personalization, promotions, and cross-sell across properties like Prime, AWS, and Twitch.
Brand leverage. “Amazon Coin” is an asset they can market, bundle, and extend across their ecosystem. USDC? That’s invisible to the customer. No upside.
Strategic flexibility. With their own coin, they can experiment with new business models — micropayments, credits, subscription tiers — without relying on third-party financial infrastructure.
Float optionality. While most consumers don’t preload balances, stored value from refunds, gift cards, and promotional credits adds up. It’s not Stripe-level float, but it’s not zero either — and it can earn yield at scale.
For Amazon or Walmart, stablecoin adoption is a tactical tweak. Issuance is a full-stack transformation.
How These Strategies Could Play Out
Fast forward a year or two. Let’s imagine both strategies work.
Meta adds stablecoin for Instagram creator payouts. (They could also consider integrating it to Whatsapp as remittances, but may face more scrutiny for its “wallet” function and float/interest rate — it’s too similar to PayPal.)
Uber integrates stablecoin payouts. Drivers in Buenos Aires now get paid in 10 seconds instead of 5 days. Driver satisfaction rises. Treasury operations improve.
Airbnb reduces card fees by routing 10% of bookings through USDC. Guests in Southeast Asia start using crypto wallets directly.
Apple and Google Pay add “Pay with USDC” at checkout. Developers can integrate stablecoin loyalty mechanics into their in-app purchases.
X launches support for creators to receive tips and ad revenue in PYUSD. Borderless monetization becomes a thing.
Meanwhile:
Amazon launches Amazon Coin. Users get 3% back in Coin for Prime purchases. Coin can be used on Twitch, Audible, Kindle — full ecosystem synergy.
Walmart gives extra discounts for using Walmart Coin. It starts to look like a digital gift card + rewards system + payment rail in one.
By 2026, these coins begin to gain secondary acceptance in marketplaces or partner merchants. Walmart Coin might get accepted at Sam’s Club. Amazon Coin at Whole Foods.
Issuance becomes its own network. And with it, a new kind of corporate monetary layer.
The Real Divide: Business Models
At the end of the day, this isn’t about who’s brave enough to issue a coin. It’s about alignment.
Platforms make money by matching supply with demand. They need payment tools that are fast, cheap, and global.
Retail ecosystems make money by increasing lifetime value and keeping spend in-house. They win by owning more of the funnel.
Platforms will plug into open stablecoins to streamline operations. Retail giants will issue their own to control the stack.
Same technology, completely different use case.
This is where things get interesting. Because if stablecoins become the default for digital value transfer — whether through adoption or issuance — the companies that align their strategy to the right use case will have a massive advantage.
Not every company needs its own coin. But the ones who get the mix right will be the ones who stop renting financial infrastructure — and start owning it.