#BigTechStablecoin

Big tech companies are diving into stablecoin integration to cut transaction costs and enable faster cross-border payments.

🔍 Companies Involved:

🍎 Apple: Exploring stablecoin functionality in Apple Pay with Circle (issuer of USDC).

🐦 X (formerly Twitter): Looking at stablecoin payments in its X Money app, discussing integration with Stripe.

🏠 Airbnb: Researching digital assets and stablecoin support with payment partners like Worldpay.

🌐 Google: Assessing stablecoins for payments efficiency — Rich Widmann (Google Cloud Web3 lead) calls them “one of the biggest upgrades to payments since the SWIFT network.”

🚗 Uber: CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says Uber is evaluating stablecoins for global transfers.

⚖️ Regulatory Environment:

📝 The GENIUS Act (US Senate) would regulate stablecoins, with Democrats pushing to ban Big Tech from issuing their own stablecoins.

🤝 Partnerships and Developments:

🔗 Stripe’s Acquisition: Stripe bought Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure startup, to enable businesses to offer stablecoin payments.

💳 Visa’s Pilot: Visa launched pilots for stablecoin-linked cards with Bridge in April 2025.

📈 Circle’s IPO: Circle (issuer of USDC) went public, with stocks surging nearly 200% above the IPO price.

📊 Market Growth:

Stablecoins have grown 90% in market cap since January 2024, reaching $249.3 billion. This surge is drawing Big Tech into the stablecoin arena for faster and cheaper transactions.