Hi stable subscribers, 

Welcome to another edition of The Weekly Stable, the #1 source for stablecoin insights brought to you by This Week in Fintech.

Each week, over 85,000 fintech professionals rely on us for clear analysis, thoughtful perspectives, and steady coverage of the stablecoin space—going beyond the news.

Yesterday at the Stable Salon in NYC, I had the opportunity to moderate a panel on stablecoin M&A with Rob Hadick (Dragonfly Capital), Michael Ashe (Galaxy Digital), and Max Fantle (Paxos). They each shared sharp insights from their seats in VC, banking, and corporate development — and we covered a lot of ground.

The key takeaways?

• Wallet infrastructure is emerging as the first entry point for TradFi buyers
• Founders should build relationships early; buyers need clear M&A frameworks
• Competitive advantage lies in difficult areas like compliance, security, fraud, and FX rails

We also covered headline price distortions, last-mile challenges, and where value will ultimately accrue. I’ll share a detailed write-up soon — follow me on the channels below to catch it when it’s published.

For this week's edition there was a lot of great news to cover, so I’m diving into three key stories: Stripe’s stablecoin product launch, Coinbase’s x402 protocol, and rising tensions in Congress over crypto regulation.

After that, you’ll find a roundup of new products, partnerships, and regulatory moves from Custodia Bank, Ethena Labs, JPMorgan, Lightspark, MANSA, Mesh, Ramp, Revolut, Visa and more.

Enjoy this week’s news below and let us know about any other feedback/suggestions you have.

(Find us online at @chuk_xyz, linkedin/chuk-okpalugo, @thestablecon and linkedin/stablecon)

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🏆 Top Stories

Stripe Launches Stablecoin Financial Accounts in 101 New Countries Threatening Banks 

Stripe’s launch of Stablecoin Financial Accounts (the pilot teased last week) was impressive for many reasons, but the key takeaway was that they were able to access 101 net new countries with one launch. 

The picture couldn’t be any clearer, the financial map is being redrawn and a land grab for consumers and businesses globally has begun. For a deep drive on this, check out my analysis here: Stripe, Stablecoins, and the $100B Race to Rebundle Finance

Key Facts

• Hold dollars (via stablecoins)
• Send and receive funds via stablecoins
• Send and receive USD and Euros over ACH, wire, and SEPA
• Available in 151 countries (101 net new with this launch)

Why It Matters

• Launch globally on day one: They unlocked new customers in 101 net new markets with one product. Stablecoin infra makes this possible and reduces the barriers for fintechs to compete globally.
• Strategic positioning: By owning cash management, Stripe becomes deeply embedded as the default financial operating system for merchants, competing directly with traditional banks.
• Stablecoins as a wedge: This is an incredibly effective beach head into new TAMs. Once Stripe controls cash management, they can layer on additional services over time (Billing, FX, Expense Management, Lending).

Coinbase’s x402 Protocol Makes Stablecoin Payments Native to the Internet

Coinbase has launched x402, an open-source protocol enabling software-to-software stablecoin payments via HTTP — no credit cards, no API keys, no logins. The move could position stablecoins as the default currency for AI and machine-native transactions.

Key Facts

• x402 leverages the long-unused HTTP 402 status code for "Payment Required."
• Supports any network and stablecoin; demoed on Base with USDC.
• Optimized for agent-to-agent use cases (AI, IoT, bots), but can support human purchases

Why It Matters

• Solves critical friction in online payments: Today, enabling programmatic payments online is cumbersome, requiring cards, API keys, or pre-funded wallets. x402 makes payments as simple as an HTTP request, no manual setup required for each new service.
• Competition with card networks: Unlike Visa and Mastercard’s agentic commerce systems, which still run on closed card rails, x402 is open, chain-agnostic, and developer-first. They compete, but x402 looks a lot stronger for pure machine-to-machine payments whereas the agentic commerce systems seem to focus more on enabling agents to fulfill human intent.
• Enables micropayments: Credit card and card-like systems have fee floors that make sub-$0.10 payments impractical. x402 makes sub-cent payments feasible, unlocking pay-per-use business models e.g. pay per API call, GPU second, or LLM data.

Stablecoin Bill Faces First Major Test as Crypto Becomes a Partisan Flashpoint

Once bipartisan, stablecoin regulation is now mired in political conflict as Senate Democrats withdraw support from the GENIUS Act, while Trump-linked crypto ventures fuel broader accusations of corruption and foreign influence and threaten the progress of broader crypto market structure legislation.

Key Facts

• The Senate is preparing to vote on the GENIUS Act today (May 8th). Earlier this week, nine Senate Democrats, including prior supporters, said they won’t support advancing the stablecoin bill without changes. 
• Concerns center on foreign issuer risks, anti-money laundering gaps, and national security safeguards. The bill needs 60 votes to pass, requiring at least seven Democrats.
• Separately, Maxine Waters led a walkout from a House hearing on the broader Market Structure bill, citing Trump’s crypto ties and potential conflicts of interest.

Why It Matters

• Momentum is stalling as bipartisan support fractures, risking delays to long-sought regulatory clarity for stablecoins, right as we approach the finish line.
• Trump family’s crypto dealings — especially with foreign investors — present credible concerns over conflicts of interest, which could delay broader support and progress for U.S. crypto regulation.

🚀 Product Launches

Playtron unveils Game Dollar stablecoin in collaboration with M0 and Bridge, expected to power upcoming SuiPlay handheld console (read more)

Infini Launches Global Card Offering Daily Stablecoin Yield (read more)

Ethena Labs partners with Ton blockchain to bring USDe to a billion users (read more)

Reown (fka WalletConnect) launch AppKit allowing users to pay directly from their Binance or Coinbase accounts without leaving the checkout flow (read more)

Revolut partners with Lightspark to streamline Bitcoin transactions (read more)

Stripe launched their new Stablecoin Financial Accounts product to 101 new countries via Bridge (read more)

Ramp partners with Stripe to launch stablecoin-backed cards for businesses, first launching in Latin America (read more)

💸 Fundraises and M&A

Visa Makes Landmark BVNK Investment In ‘Powerful Validation’ Of Stablecoins’ Payments Future (read more)

Miden Spins Out From Polygon Labs, Raises $25M to Launch Own Chain (read more)

⚡ Stablecoin Adoption 

JPMorgan's blockchain unit expands into MENA with 8 major bank deals (read more)

Native USDC and CCTP V2 are coming soon to World Chain (read more)

Rain and Visa Partner to Accelerate Onchain Credit Cards (read more)

The DTCC Collateral Appchain wants to rewrite the rules of TradFi settlement (read more)

Abu Dhabi doubles down on crypto as wealth fund, FAB, IHC join forces for new AE stablecoin (read more)

Abu Dhabi’s MGX to close $2 billion investment in Binance using USD1 stablecoin (read more)

Tether releases Q1 Attestation report. Approaching $120B in US Treasuries (read more)

Bhutan and Binance Pay partner to launch world's first national-level crypto tourism payment system (read more)

Stablecoin usage on Base reached an all-time high in Q1 2025 (read more)

Circle extends their paymaster service to 7 new blockchains and adds support for EOAs (read more)

World Liberty Financial opens vote for proposed USD1 airdrop to WLFI holders (read more)

MANSA hits $100M in Total Transaction Volume (read more)

Goldman Sachs looks to 24/7 tokenized Treasuries, money market trading in US (read more)

Tokenized Bank Deposit Issued By Custodia Bank and Vantage Bank Used For Fast Cross-Border Business Payments (read more)

Stablecoin Payments Are Now Available on Apple Pay Through Mesh (read more)

⚖️ Regulatory Developments

OCC Clarifies Bank Authority to Engage in Crypto-Asset Custody and Execution Services (read more)

Ahead of Historic Senate Vote, Key Stakeholders Voice Support for GENIUS Act (read more)

US Treasury report on stablecoins mulls upside of offering interest (read more)

Scott Bessent Sees Potential for $2T Digital FX Demand for US Debt (read more)

Dems Stall Stablecoin Bill, Jeopardizing More Important Crypto Regulation Bill (read more and here)

Analysis of New joint House Financial Services and House Agriculture Market Structure bill on crypto (read more)

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💬 Posts of the Week

📖 Reads of the Week

In What Everyone Gets Wrong About Crypto Adoption, Christian Catalini, Lightspark Co-Founder, examines Worldcoin’s mainstream push, highlighting its shift from token-driven growth to delivering real utility through proof-of-personhood and seamless payment integrations, while navigating crypto’s infrastructure challenges to achieve sustainable adoption.

In An Open Letter to the Democratic Party on Stablecoins, Austin Campbell, Founder of Zero Knowledge Consulting, a top proponent for stablecoins and a professor at Y, makes a case for why Democrats should support stablecoins arguing that opposition to them misaligns the party with banks and alienates young, tech-savvy voters.

Artemis released their April 2025 stablecoin report with a feature on non-USD stablecoins.