#BigTechStablecoin

A hashtag points to an emerging and controversial theme: the entry of technology giants (Big Techs like Meta, Apple, Google, Amazon, etc.) into the stablecoin market — cryptocurrencies tied to stable assets, like the dollar.

1. What is a Big Tech Stablecoin?

It is a stablecoin issued, managed, or integrated by a large technology company. The most well-known example was Libra (later Diem), Facebook/Meta's attempt to launch a global digital currency. The idea was to use the Big Tech's user base to create a new digital financial system, outside of banks and governments.

2. Opportunities

Global financial inclusion: People without access to banks could transact easily, especially in countries with unstable currencies.

Faster and cheaper payments: With integration into platforms like WhatsApp, iMessage, or Amazon Pay, it would be possible to send money almost instantly and without intermediaries.

Private financial ecosystems: Companies could create their own "financial nations," with their own currencies, building customer loyalty.

3. Risks and Criticism

Excessive private power: A company like Meta controlling a global currency could concentrate even more economic and political power.

Difficult regulation: States lose control over monetary policy, tax evasion, and financial crimes if these currencies escape central banks.

Privacy and surveillance: Big Techs already possess a lot of data. If they also dominate financial data, the level of surveillance would be unprecedented.

4. Current Scenario

After pressure from regulators, projects like Libra/Diem were canceled.

However, there are signs of new movements: Apple with Apple Pay Later, Amazon with internal credit, PayPal with its own stablecoin (PYUSD) — all subtle steps towards the creation of their own digital currencies.

Central banks are responding with their CBDCs (central bank digital currencies), such as the e-yuan, the Digital Real, among others.