Per a report from the Wall Street Journal, giants Amazon and Walmart are looking into launching their own digital assets. According to the report, the merchants might issue in-house stablecoins to save billions of dollars on fees and payment transactions.
The report stated:
Some of the biggest merchants are exploring how to issue or use stablecoins, potentially shifting the high volumes of cash and card transactions that they handle outside the traditional financial system and saving them billions of dollars in fees. Walmart, Amazon. and other multinational giants have recently explored whether to issue their own stablecoins in the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter.
Amazon and Walmart To Join Crypto?
This is not the first time that Amazon and Walmart are exploring a similar strategy. Per a report from 2019, the two financial giants have been securing patents to launch their own stablecoins.
The companies are potentially involved in a quiet war to become the first US merchants to launch this digital asset. Over 5 years ago, Walmart was already promoting financial services to “bank the unbanked,” one of the mottos of the crypto industry.
In addition to securing patents, Amazon has been supporting several initiatives across the digital asset space. Only a year ago, the company was offering credit packs for Web3 Games while a portion of its shareholders proposed the addition of Bitcoin to the company’s balance sheet.
Unlike 2019, the political environment in the US seems more favorable due to the Trump’s administration pro crypto stance. However, the companies are yet to announce anything official, and everything remains as rumors and speculation until otherwise.
According to the 2019 report, both companies stand a lot to win by launching their own stablecoin in terms of onboarding more clients, and trimming costs in their supply chain. The 2019 report stated:
An “in-house” cryptocurrency is going to make that supply chain run better and shave off transaction fees, exchange rate markups, etc.
We think it will be the same story with Amazon, whose supply chain rivals Walmart’s in size and efficiency.
Cover image from Unsplash, chart from Trading
