Shopify、 Wal Mart, Amazon and other e-commerce giants suddenly turn to stable currency. Will payment be a big killer of encryption?

Shopify、 Wal Mart, Amazon and other e-commerce giants suddenly turn to stable currency. Will payment be a big killer of encryption?
Do you still remember people asking, ‘Can I buy a cup of coffee with Bitcoin?’ Nowadays, encrypted asset payments are no longer a niche scene, but are seen as the ‘future payment method’ by global retail giants.

Recent big news: Shopify has officially launched USDC stablecoin payments, and the first batch of merchants began testing on June 12th. It is expected to be fully promoted within the year. At the same time, Amazon and Wal Mart are reported to be exploring the issue of their own stable currencies, and even Expedia and airlines are also studying crypto asset payments.

What drove this craze? What pain points have stablecoins solved? Should banks and credit card companies be nervous? This article analyzes the core reasons why e-commerce embraces encrypted assets: is this a trend or a necessary choice?

E-commerce has been plagued by credit card fees for many years, is stablecoin the answer?

Simple fact: Payment has always been an invisible cost killer for e-commerce. Whether on Amazon, Shopify stores, or global markets, every use of credit card, PayPal, or Apple Pay incurs fees.

For example, Visa and Mastercard typically charge a fee of 2-3%. Every time a product is sold, the merchant has to pay this’ hidden tax ‘. Not to mention the foreign exchange fees and settlement delays for cross-border orders. Traditional payment methods are undoubtedly a burden on digital commerce.

In contrast, stablecoins offer a striking alternative:

Real time settlement (on chain transactions)

Low transaction costs (no intermediary fees)

Cross border compatibility (no forex hassle)

Programmable (can be integrated with logistics and fulfillment systems)

Therefore, Shopify、 It is not surprising that Wal Mart, Amazon and other giants actively evaluate whether they can control this value chain by themselves.

Shopify fires the first shot: USDC payment pilot goes live

Shopify takes the lead in e-commerce platforms. In collaboration with Coinbase, Shopify has launched USDC payment functionality based on the Base network (Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2 network). The operation method is as follows:

Customers use USDC payment on the chain

Merchants receive fiat currency (automatically converted to US dollars, etc.)

Circle and Shopify Payments Processing Backend

For customers, the experience remains unchanged; For merchants, there is no need to understand encrypted assets, the process is fully automated. The key difference? Lower fees and faster settlements.

To attract users, Shopify even offers a 1% USDC cashback incentive. Making money with stablecoins directly challenges traditional payment channels.

This also demonstrates Shopify’s profound insight into Web3 user behavior. Many stablecoin holders do not use credit cards or PayPal, but have assets to consume. Shopify hopes to convert them into buyers.

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Retail giants follow up: Amazon and Wal Mart join the competition

Shopify took the lead, but more symbolically, global retail giants have also begun to take cryptocurrency payments seriously. Multiple mainstream media outlets have reported:

Wal Mart and Amazon are exploring the issue of their own stable currency (similar to Facebook’s Libra vision)

Expedia and airlines are also researching encrypted asset payments to simplify cross-border travel settlements

Why do traditional giants suddenly go all out?

Reduce transaction costs: stablecoins bypass acquiring institutions, significantly reducing fees

Accelerated settlement: shortened from days to seconds

Enhance customer retention: Crypto asset users are more inclined to support merchants compatible with their wallets

Bypass traditional bank delays: No need to wait for bank transfers or credit approvals

In short, stablecoins have solved several long-term pain points that e-commerce has struggled with for many years. No wonder everyone is eager to try.

The recent public criticism of stablecoins by global payment providers is not a coincidence – the pressure is real.

Cryptocurrency payment is not completely decentralized: ‘on chain payment+off chain settlement’ is a compromise solution

It should be clarified that in reality, encrypted asset payments are not completely decentralized. Taking Shopify’s implementation as an example, it adopts a typical “on chain/off chain hybrid” model:

Users can choose USDC payment on the Shopify interface (via Base or Ethereum on chain transactions)

Shopify accepts payments, and Circle converts them into fiat currency (such as USD, EUR, JPY)

Fiat currency delivered through traditional banking channels

Therefore, although stablecoins avoid Visa or Mastercard, they still rely on banks for the last mile. This is precisely the question that regulatory agencies are closely monitoring: whether stablecoins evade compliance? Is the liquidation process transparent? How to handle AML and KYC?

Fortunately, Shopify and Circle have done their homework and their implementation meets the current regulatory expectations for stablecoin compliance in the United States.

Why are e-commerce giants betting on stablecoins? Anxiety in the Three Major Industries

Let’s analyze the core driving factors:

Cost anxiety

Merchants are tired of paying credit card and PayPal fees. Stablecoins provide a way to bypass intermediaries, reduce costs, and accelerate cash flow.

Technology stack anxiety

The Web2 platform is still constrained by traditional banking systems. In contrast, Web3 payment infrastructure inherently possesses:

automation

borderless

transparent

The open-source protocols of Coinbase and Shopify can be directly integrated into the order system, which is much simpler than PayPal’s traditional SDK.

User anxiety

The user base of encrypted assets is growing rapidly, and they have coins but nowhere to spend them. Supporting encrypted payments is a simple way to attract and retain this group. In addition, it also supports innovative reward mechanisms such as cash back, NFT benefits, and gamified loyalty programs.

brief summary

Can stablecoins reshape the global e-commerce payment landscape?

Check the current signal:

Surge in Payment Volume: The monthly payment volume of stablecoins has increased from $2 billion two years ago to $6.3 billion, with a total global transaction volume exceeding $94 billion.

Platform positive action: Shopify has been launched, Amazon and Wal Mart are studying, and tourism giants are also preparing.

The trend is evident: the acceptance of encrypted assets is on the rise, cross-border trade requires efficient settlement, and traditional payment systems have become bottlenecks.

If Bitcoin is digital gold, then stablecoins are becoming digital dollars. The e-commerce players who take the lead are laying the foundation for global payments in the next decade.