Walmart and Amazon eye dollar-pegged stablecoins to cut payment costs: report

U.S. retail powerhouses Walmart and Amazon are reportedly weighing the launch of their own dollar-pegged stablecoins.

Per a June 13 WSJ report, the companies are said to be exploring how stablecoin launch and integration could help streamline payment systems, significantly cut processing fees, and reduce reliance on the traditional banking infrastructure.

By issuing their own tokens, both firms could shift massive volumes of daily transactions onto the blockchain, offering more efficient payment flows. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the report also noted that other major players, including Expedia Group Inc. and airlines in the United States, are considering similar stablecoin initiatives.

Amazon recently joined tech peers like Microsoft and Meta in opting against the proposal to hold crypto giant Bitcoin in its treasury. The latest report, while brief, suggests that the e-commerce giant likely prefers stablecoins as a more practical and stable path for integrating crypto-like assets into their financial ecosystems.

Leading stablecoins USDT (USDT) and USDC (USDC) have already demonstrated strong utility in global payments. Tether’s USDT recently surpassed $155 billion in circulation and the surge in adoption highlights that the assets can serve as efficient, low-cost alternatives to traditional options.

Meanwhile, ride-hailing company Uber also recently signaled interest in the use of stablecoins to streamline global payments. Earlier this month, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi revealed the company is in the “study phase” of evaluating stablecoins as a potential tool for international transactions.

E-commerce infrastructure provider Shopify will also reportedly begin allowing merchants to accept payments in USDC starting later this month, as it advances efforts to integrate the stablecoin in collaboration with Coinbase and Stripe.

The present total supply of stablecoins exceeds $239 billion, all held across 150 million wallet addresses.