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 pay attention to this trend. In just six weeks, we have witnessed a series of significant events: Circle, the issuer of USDC, submitted its application to list on the New York Stock Exchange; Coinbase launched a stablecoin API payment standard, officially entering the proxy payment space; 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 supporting stablecoins.
There is a common core behind these events: meeting user needs. It can be seen as the 'Skype moment' for the payments sector. Looking back to 2003, Skype introduced a disruptive feature—allowing users to call landlines at lower costs via computer. However, as more people joined the digital calling network, people eventually completely abandoned traditional telephony in favor of internet-based WhatsApp calls. This marks 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 expose more people to and use stablecoins, even if they still rely on compatibility features provided by traditional payment companies. As individuals and businesses gradually adopt stablecoins through existing products, new opportunities will arise—stablecoins will be widely used in self-custody, shopping, remittances, DeFi, and other scenarios.
Here is the timeline of key events in the past six weeks and their significance in the bigger 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 in 101 countries. Additionally, they also released USDB, a programmable stablecoin that developers can embed in their applications and earn rewards by building the USDB ecosystem.
Why is this important?
Stripe drives the adoption of stablecoins by directly embedding incentive mechanisms at the stablecoin level, attempting to gain control over more of the payment ecosystem. Stablecoin financial accounts allow Stripe to bypass the complex processes and high costs of traditional banks, directly competing 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 payment monetization options.
These initiatives allow Stripe to leverage neutral blockchain infrastructure rather than traditional card networks to offer products that are cheaper, more customizable, more widely accessible, 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 this important?
Stablecoins have found a market fit in emerging markets, especially in regions with high remittance demand. However, converting between stablecoins and cash remains very difficult, and cash is still widely used as a payment method in many markets. MoneyGram has a global cash network that provides a new way for stablecoins to interoperate with everyday consumption and spending.
May 6: Coinbase launches x402 payment standard
Coinbase launched x402, a stablecoin payment standard designed specifically for internet-native payments, aiming to enable atomic transactions between APIs, applications, and AI agents.
Why is this important?
You may not know that Visa cannot process payments of less than 1 cent. The future 'proxy payments'—transactions performed on behalf of users by autonomous software agents—require programmable currency to be realized. If we want these agents to purchase goods or services for us, stablecoins will become the ideal choice.
Companies like Stripe and Visa are exploring their own proxy payment solutions, while stablecoins are favored for their basis on trusted, neutral, and decentralized platforms. In contrast, decentralized protocols do not have high fees, making stablecoins potentially the most economical choice in the long run. The x402 standard integrates stablecoin settlement, intent-based payments, and compliance into one specification, far exceeding Visa and SWIFT in speed, composability, and programmability.
May 6: Visa and BVNK reach a strategic partnership
Visa announced a strategic partnership with stablecoin payment infrastructure company BVNK.
Why is this important?
Visa's collaboration can be seen as a bet on stablecoin payment infrastructure, directly engaging in a payment space that could disrupt its existing business model. By partnering 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 very clever: other traditional payment companies are expected to follow suit, or they may be 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 exchanges and wallets such as Circle, OKX, and Paxos to launch broader stablecoin integrations, allowing consumers to spend stablecoin balances using Mastercard cards. Meanwhile, merchants can also directly settle fiat card payments as USDC.
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 this 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 have achieved compatibility with traditional payment infrastructure, in the future, merchants may prefer to accept stablecoin payments directly to avoid high card processing fees. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs will also develop more new products to make 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 receive a yield of 3.7%.
Why is this important?
PayPal aims to attract more deposits, even if those deposits may exist in MetaMask. By offering yields, they incentivize users to buy and hold stablecoins on their platform, while the use of PYUSD outside the platform can also bring more revenue to PayPal. Yields are just the first step; more measures may come in the future to boost PYUSD transaction volume and integration.
April 21: Circle launches Circle Payments Network
Circle announced partnerships with several global banks and stablecoin startups to launch Circle Payments Network to improve international payments.
Why is this important?
Circle directly challenges SWIFT and traditional banking networks, attempting to replace their inefficient messaging services and payment processes. If successful, this move will completely change the landscape of international payments.
April 1: Circle applies for listing
Circle submitted its application to list on the New York Stock Exchange, marking a further recognition of the legitimacy of stablecoin payments.
Summary
Traditional payment companies not only recognize the value of stablecoins but are also actively building key infrastructure to ensure stablecoins are compatible with existing payment systems, accelerating their adoption. Although these products may look similar to traditional payment methods in the short term, they are actually laying the groundwork for a brand 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 user adoption of stablecoins directly. As stablecoin integration 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 almost instant and nearly free programmable currency environment.
