Stablecoins Are the Hot New Thing — But How Would You Really Use Them?

Stablecoins, tokenization, blockchain — the promise of a world where your money (and all of your assets) move transparently and cheaply at light speed. However, for now, it’s just that: a promise.

If you’ve never touched the blockchain in your life, you might have never heard of stablecoins before stable issuer CircleCRCL

went public. Since then, the technology has been the talk of fintech and banking names, all of which are seeking to seize on the stable opportunity.

The biggest edge? The cost of moving money. Mesh Finance CEO Bam Azizi says that there’s much ado for institutions and businesses, “If you can save 0.05% out of a billion or ten billion, that’s a meaningful amount.” That’s a major reason why analysts and payment industry participants see stables changing how businesses do business.

But can the tech help The Average Joe, too? And if so, when?

Stable studies for noobs: To fundamentalists in cryptoland, part of the appeal of decentralized currency was the ability to be your own bank. To that end, it can seem that stablecoins sort of defeat the purpose of being ‘debanked.’ That’s likely why many of you — our readers — have asked how stablecoins could really change how you get paid, save, or spend. In short: we’re still early.

• Getting paid: Austin Heaton, Head of Content at payroll provider Rise, says over half of the site’s 100K+ contractors are already getting paid in stables, preferring instant settlement over traditional direct deposit.
• As a store of value: While the most popular stables are pegged to the US dollar, other currencies may emerge. Johannes Kern, Managing Director of the Frankencoin Association, said that other currency stablecoins might soon provide even better stores of value, pointing out Frankencoin’s recently launched Swiss Franc stable.
• Spending: Rather than spend in crypto, stablecoin users have substituted checks, Venmo, and other payment software for the quick payment benefits of stables — reimbursing friends after a night out or paying for goods or services instantly.
• Remittances: Stablecoins are already disrupting the wildly expensive global remittance business, allowing people to transfer money across borders — to family or friends in other countries — for next to nothing.

Promise of the Future

It remains to be seen how — or when — stablecoins will become key ingredients in the payment pie. However, there are some clues of how the industry might eventually transform.

• A number of retailers — namely, Walmart and Amazon — are reportedly trialing stablecoin systems to accept payments with the goal of saving money on card swipe fees.
• Azizi says adoption will rely on improving the user experience with new tech — not just accepting crypto, but building tools to transform traditional fiat payments into lower-cost stable payments.

They’ll never let an opportunity pass them by: While USDC issuer Circle might have had a first-mover advantage, the promise of stablecoin savings could spur new entries and technology. Even legacy payment giants like Mastercard and Visa are embracing the tech, looking to make it work for them. The way things are evolving, it might well be that the future financial system will run on stablecoins and tokenized assets — but you’d never know it. Or maybe, just maybe, we’ll live in the cryptobro’s utopian ideal, showing our QR codes at checkout for every purchase.