Stablecoins have spent years waiting for regulatory legitimacy. Now that legality has created a more complex problem: almost everyone wants a share of the action.
As a result, the biggest stablecoin news this week did not come from the original cryptocurrency companies. Visa Fired The new Visa Stablecoin (VSP) platform that gives financial institutions, fintechs, and cryptocurrency companies a single managed environment to mint, redeem, hold, and transfer stablecoins. Goldman Sachs CEO breaks with parts of banking lobby over pending cryptocurrency legislation as federal regulators face another implementation deadline and Samsung Previewed The stablecoin function within its consumer wallet.
Individually, none of these developments decide the future of digital dollars. Collectively, they show that stablecoins are no longer primarily a cryptocurrency product. It has become a contested layer of financial infrastructure.
See also: Stablecoins This Week: TradFi Doesn’t Want DeFi, It Wants Blockchain
The stablecoin stack is up for grabs
The week’s developments do not indicate that one company is the winner. They point out that the competitive battlefield is shifting away from who issues the token and toward who controls the software, banking relationships, settlement infrastructure and consumer distribution that makes digital dollars widely usable.
This strategic tension is highlighted in Washington, where A Newly released draft From the proposed text Digital Asset Market Clarity Act It reveals a fault line in the financial sector between banks and banks, as each institution evaluates whether stablecoins threaten their existing economies or open a new line of business.
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomonfor example, Rose He expressed his support To push the Clarity Act, despite objections from banking trade groups concerned about the treatment of stablecoin rewards and the potential for deposits to migrate out of traditional banks. Goldman became a Deposit-taking institution After the financial crisis of 2008.
Institutions that rely on low-cost deposits have reasons to resist stablecoin products that resemble interest-bearing accounts. PYMNTS covered how it happened on Friday (July 17). European Central Bank She added her voice to US banks, warning that widespread adoption of stablecoins could take away retail deposits from traditional banks, weakening an important source of lending funding.
However, companies with large trading, custody, market making, and investment banking businesses may see more upside in the expansion of token financing. The central question has shifted from whether stablecoins will be legal to what type of company can operate them profitably.
He remains the Senate majority leader John Thune He said Thursday (July 23) that I did not expect The Senate passed cryptocurrency market structure legislation before the August recess, dealing a major blow to supposed progress negotiations on the Clarity Act. At the same time, Financial Action Task Force The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) urges governments to create decentralized finance platforms Under anti-money laundering rules When developers, token holders, or other identifiable parties retain meaningful control. She warned that many so-called decentralized platforms are not as decentralized as they claim.
Read more: Banks and credit unions win the trust of cryptocurrencies by explaining them first
Distribution remains the missing piece and the unproven prize
Across the consumer market, Samsung used its Galaxy Unpacked event held on Wednesday (July 22) to demonstrate stablecoin functionality within Samsung Wallet. The interface reportedly demonstrated USDC capabilities including account sending, receiving, and funding. The potential distribution is significant given that Samsung Wallet is already embedded in the company’s hardware ecosystem. But the demo came without a confirmed release date or detailed rollout plan, making it a signal of intent rather than a final consumer product.
The stablecoin industry has become adept at advertising infrastructure. It has been less successful in proving that ordinary consumers need blockchain dollars for everyday local purchases. Existing card and bank payment systems offer fraud protection, dispute resolution, and familiar credit and rewards. Stablecoins must either reproduce those benefits or solve a problem that traditional payments address poorly.
The day before that, on Tuesday, the financial operations platform slope She announced that she had begun serving clients Stablecoin accounts and payments With a new business-focused offering.
still, PYMNTS INTELLIGENCE a report “Wallet Impact: How credit unions can bridge the digital currency access gap“, produced in collaboration with SailboatsIt found that only 7% of credit union members said their institutions support cryptocurrency transactions, while 67% did not know whether this capability existed. Uncertainty was even greater around stablecoins, with 70% of members unsure whether their credit unions supported them.
