US retail giants Amazon and Walmart are considering launching their own stablecoins backed by the US dollar. According to the Wall Street Journal, which cited anonymous sources, the steps taken by these two giant companies towards the crypto asset world came to the agenda at a time when legislative work to regulate stablecoins is gaining momentum in Washington.
This development coincides with the GENIUS Act, a bill that is scheduled to be voted on by the US Congress soon. The bill aims to provide legal clarity for stablecoin companies and regulate how these crypto assets will integrate with the traditional financial system.
Billion-dollar banking costs can be reduced
The use of stablecoins can mean significant savings in transaction fees, especially for large-scale companies. These blockchain-based payment systems offer faster and lower-cost transactions compared to traditional banking infrastructure. This situation offers potentially huge savings opportunities for companies such as Amazon and Walmart, which process billions of dollars in payments annually.
In fact, Walmart announced its own token project in 2019, but later shelved the project. Amazon has been interested in blockchain technology for a long time; the company is testing escrow payment systems, especially for e-commerce transactions. These steps show that companies are exploring the potential of blockchain not only theoretically but also in practice.
Other technology giants in the field
The interest in stablecoins is not limited to Amazon and Walmart. Technology giants such as Apple, Google, Airbnb and social media platform X (formerly Twitter) are also taking steps towards stablecoin technology. While it is reported that Google has already successfully completed two stablecoin transactions, it is reported that Airbnb is discussing stablecoin-based alternative payment solutions with Worldpay. This move is being made to overcome the high commission costs created by intermediaries such as credit card providers Visa and Mastercard.
The X platform, owned by Elon Musk, plans to bring stablecoin integration to the X Money application. Musk has previously stated that X attaches great importance to developing its payment infrastructure. The company has already obtained money transfer licenses in different states of the USA.
Shopify is also not behind this trend. As we previously reported, the e-commerce platform announced that it would offer its users the option to pay with USDC by the end of the year.
GENIUS Act vote on June 17
Amid this movement in the stablecoin sector, the US Senate will vote on the GENIUS Act on Tuesday, June 17. The bill allows stablecoins that are fully backed by US dollars or equivalent assets, while also requiring annual audits for stablecoin companies with a market value exceeding $50 billion. In addition, the law includes foreign companies complying with US regulations.
The Senate gave preliminary approval to the bill in a preliminary vote held on Wednesday. After the vote, the bill will be sent to the House of Representatives. There is also a separate regulatory bill in the House regarding stablecoins. The exact time of the final vote will be determined by the Senate leadership.
