A bipartisan push on Capitol Hill is giving America’s biggest merchants a new reason to dabble in blockchain.
With the GENIUS Act gliding through a 68–30 Senate procedural vote, the road toward federally approved, dollar-backed stablecoins suddenly looks far less bumpy. Lobbyists say the bill’s focus on strict reserve audits and anti-money-laundering checks is exactly the legal scaffolding large corporations have been waiting for.
Behind the scenes, Amazon and Walmart are sketching out brand-specific tokens that could flow across their own checkouts in milliseconds, according to people briefed on the talks. The numbers explain the urgency: Amazon’s platform rang up roughly $447 billion in e-commerce sales last year, while Walmart’s online tills crossed the $100 billion mark. Even shaving a fraction off card-processing fees would unlock billions in annual savings—and give both firms tighter control over customer spending data.
Momentum isn’t limited to retail. Shopify has already committed to adding USDC payments before 2025 is out, and a banking consortium linked to JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo is discussing a joint token as well. Post-trade giant DTCC, meanwhile, dubbed stablecoins the “ideal instrument” for just-in-time collateral during a May pilot study.
None of these projects will launch until lawmakers finish haggling over the GENIUS Act’s final language and the House gives its blessing. But if the bill lands on the president’s desk, expect a stampede: big-box stores, banks, and fintechs alike appear ready to swap card rails for blockchains the moment Washington hands them a rulebook.
Bitget Wallet has entered a strategic partnership with Mastercard and Web3 payment provider Immersve to launch a new payment card that allows users to spend cryptocurrencies directly from their digital wallets.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev revealed plans on Monday to bring tokenized equity offerings to the European market, starting with shares in private tech giants OpenAI and SpaceX.
Leading crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) is set to launch perpetual-style futures contracts in the United States starting July 21, becoming one of the first regulated entities to offer a product that closely mirrors globally popular offshore perpetuals.
Zero-commission brokerage Robinhood has expanded its cryptocurrency futures offerings by launching micro futures contracts for XRP, Solana (SOL), and Bitcoin (BTC).