With the U.S Senate passing the GENIUS Act stablecoin legislation, two of the world’s largest retailers, Amazon and Walmart, are quietly building their own USD stablecoins – and it’s not just about embracing blockchain tech. It’s a strategic move to disrupt a $143 billion industry that’s been taxing merchants for decades: the payments business dominated by traditional banks.
EDITORIAL | The #GENIUS Act Could Redefine Stablecoins – And Trigger a New Wave of Players
If passed, the U.S. GENIUS Act could transform the global stablecoin market — opening the door to banks, Big Tech, and fintechs alike.https://t.co/n3r8jq5clZ #Stablecoins pic.twitter.com/sLcPz7vgi5
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) June 13, 2025
The Problem: Every Tap of Your Card Pays a Toll
Every time a customer swipes or taps a card, three parties take a cut:
VISA and MasterCard claim around 0.14% in network fees.
Payment processors like Stripe and Fiserv take roughly 0.40%.
Issuing banks – the big winners – walk away with 1.8% in interchange fees.
These small percentages add up. In the last year alone:
VISA and MasterCard collected $19 billion
Payment processors earned $30 billion
Banks took home a staggering $143 billion in interchange fees
That’s $143 billion in what is essentially a hidden tax on U.S. merchants – and Amazon and Walmart are tired of paying it.
WORLD BANK: Poor Transparency to Blame for High Cost of Remittances in Developing Nations
DID YOU KNOW?
If the cost of sending remittances could be reduced by 5 percentage points relative to THE value sent, over $16B would be be saved per yearhttps://t.co/SXVEB124jg
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) June 8, 2022
The Strategy: Replace the Middlemen With Stablecoins
Instead of relying on traditional card networks and banking intermediaries, both retail giants are exploring USD-backed stablecoins to streamline payments and control the rails themselves.
Here’s what stablecoins offer:
Real-time, on-chain settlement
Full control over cash flows
No reward-funded markups
Elimination of intermediary fees
Contrary to popular belief, the goal isn’t to kill VISA or MasterCard – it’s to bypass the banks and eliminate interchange fees that drain merchants annually.
Their vision is clear:
Replace cards with tokens
Replace bank float with programmable dollars
Replace legacy networks with smart contracts
And now, U.S. regulation is catching up.
THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO |
The U.S. Senate passed the #GENIUS Act, the first #stablecoin legislation to be approved by either Congressional chamber after several years of trying.#GENIUSAct #StablecoinRegulation pic.twitter.com/J2sfkmA754
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) June 21, 2025
The Timing: Legal Clarity Arrives With the GENIUS Act
The recent passage of the GENIUS Act by the U.S. Senate marks a turning point. For the first time, there’s a federal framework for USD stablecoins:
Allows issuance by banks, fintechs, and qualified state entities
Requires 1:1 reserves, monthly audits, and AML compliance
Opens the door for regulated corporate stablecoin initiatives
This shift comes as major players are already making moves:
Ripple launched RLUSD
JPMorgan launched JPMD for institutional stablecoin settlements
Tether is tailoring U.S.-specific products
Amazon and Walmart are now positioning stablecoins as key to their retail dominance
REGULATION | Dubai Regulator Greenlights @Ripple‘s $RLUSD Stablecoin Within the Economic Zone Serving Middle East, Africa, and South Asia
The economic zone, which served as a hub for nearly 7,000 registered businesses by 2024https://t.co/dv32d8nEBN @XRP_ARMY_RIPPLE pic.twitter.com/zDV3ckd4Yg
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) June 3, 2025
Why This Matters: Stablecoins Go From Crypto Hype to Strategic Infrastructure
Today’s stablecoin market sees over $1 trillion in monthly volume, with more than 90% driven by proprietary trading firms, hedge funds, and market makers. Most of this activity is used for settlement, rebalancing, and liquidity across exchanges – not retail payments.
But Amazon and Walmart are about to change that.
If they issue their own stablecoins and push them into everyday commerce, it’s not just a tech upgrade – it’s a direct attack on the foundations of traditional banking.
Interchange fees? Gone.
Merchant economics? Rewritten.
Bank revenue streams? Disrupted.
Consumer rewards programs? Upended.
In short, this could redirect over $100 billion in annual revenue flows away from the banking sector and into programmable, merchant-controlled ecosystems.
What we’re witnessing isn’t just a quiet fintech experiment. It’s a full-blown transformation of the payments landscape. With legal clarity, institutional momentum, and retail giants at the helm, stablecoins are poised to become the backbone of global commerce.
Amazon and Walmart aren’t just building new payment systems – they’re launching a calculated assault on the old ones.
Stay tuned to BitKE for deeper insights into the global crypto regulatory updates.
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