Amazon and Walmart Exploring Launch of Their Own Stablecoins: Report

Two major retail giants, Walmart and Amazon, are reportedly exploring the launch of their dollar-pegged stablecoins. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported the development today, citing sources with direct knowledge of the matter. According to WSJ, the retail behemoths are considering launching brand-specific stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar.  Potential Benefits  Stablecoins could enhance companies' operations by offering instant and cheaper transactions. This would contrast with what is obtainable in the traditional financial system, where settlements sometimes take days, and users pay significant fees.  Moreover, these dollar-pegged tokens could help companies save millions of dollars in transaction fees. However, the initiative could negatively impact the retail behemoths' banking partners.  By issuing brand-specific stablecoins, Amazon and Walmart could shift massive cash flows away from their banking partners. For context, Amazon's global e-commerce sales reached an astounding $447 billion in 2024, while Walmart's global sales surpassed $100 billion the previous year.  Since stablecoins offer cheaper transactions, saving a small fee on each transaction could help the e-commerce giants save millions of dollars.  In the meantime, Amazon and Walmart have not confirmed whether they are planning to launch dollar-pegged stablecoins.  GENIUS Act's Passage Will Determine Stablecoins' Launch  Nonetheless, the potential launch of the brand-specific stablecoins for Amazon and Walmart is contingent on the passage of the highly anticipated GENIUS Act.  The legislation represents the United States' effort to regulate the stablecoin market by establishing straightforward anti-money laundering (AML) and collateralization rules. Congress has been deliberating on its potential passage since Bill Hagerty introduced it earlier this year.  The bill has undergone several voting exercises, including one earlier this week when congressional members voted to invoke cloture on its recent amendment.  According to Eleanor Terrett, the Senate has scheduled a final passage vote for the GENIUS Act on June 17, 2025. https://twitter.com/EleanorTerrett/status/1933295510439313721 If the bill passes, it could allow Amazon and Walmart to introduce their stablecoins under a regulatory framework. While Walmart and Amazon plan to introduce brand-specific stablecoins, rival Shopify is considering integrating with an existing one. Yesterday, Shopify rolled out early access for Circle's USDC payments.  Under the initiative, merchants can accept USDC payments from customers on the Base network. Notably, Shopify partnered with Stripe and San Francisco-based exchange Coinbase for the initiative.