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 90,000 fintech professionals rely on us for clear analysis, thoughtful perspectives, and steady coverage of the stablecoin space—going beyond the news.

This week we dive into the commoditization of stablecoin issuance, Meta’s stablecoin payouts to creators and the gridlock in the Senate with the GENIUS bill, as well as a round up of product launches, partnerships and regulatory news from Anchorage Digital, Brale, Global Dollar Network, J.P. Morgan, MANSA, MoonPay, Ondo Finance, Robinhood, VanEck 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

Bridge, Brale, and the Commoditization of Stablecoin Issuance

Bridge’s launch of Stablecoin issuance APIs was drowned in the sea of announcements last week but are worth double clicking on. They allow developers to issue USDB, its internal stablecoin, or spin up white-labeled stablecoins backed 1:1 by USDB. Developers keep most of the yield, and conversions to and from USDC are instant and free.

It is a clean API-first model, but not a new one. Brale already offers this ability across multiple chains. M^0 has enabled over $200M in white-labeled stablecoins like USDN and UsualM. What Bridge brings is distribution. Backed by Stripe and already powering products like stablecoin financial accounts, Bridge could bring this model to a much broader developer base.

More importantly, this launch signals a broader shift: stablecoin issuance is becoming commoditized infrastructure. It is no longer a high-friction product. It is a low-friction primitive. As it becomes easier to launch, operate, and shut down a stablecoin, more developers will use them to solve narrow problems: internal treasury flows, user rewards, marketplace tokens, and closed-loop payments.

Distribution remains the critical challenge, both for the platforms like Bridge and Brale, and for the developers issuing stablecoins. Closed ecosystems, where developers control the user base, are the most obvious fit. In these environments, developers can abstract away minting, burning, and conversion, and capture yield in the process. Open systems are harder. Liquidity and acceptance still favor incumbents like USDC.

But that may change. As zero-fee, yield-bearing stablecoins become the default, the baseline expectation shifts. Wallets and apps have a strong incentive to help users move from non-yielding USDC into more rewarding alternatives. This puts pressure on USDC’s position as the neutral, default stablecoin, especially when users care more about rewards than brand.

We are entering a “why not” phase of stablecoins. If issuance is simple, yield is shared, and switching costs are low, the question becomes why a developer wouldn’t try. Most of these tokens will be short-lived. Some will power meaningful ecosystems. All will reset what developers expect from stablecoin infrastructure.

Bridge’s launch is not about a new feature. It is about lowering the barrier to entry. And when the barrier drops, volume follows.

Meta Eyes Stablecoins for Creator Payouts: A Smarter Crypto Play

Meta exploring stablecoin payouts on Instagram would be a very practical move. Unlike the abandoned Libra project, this approach focuses on a clear, high-impact use case: paying creators globally.

Current creator payouts are fragmented. Instagram supports ~20 countries with a $25 minimum; TikTok has a $10 threshold but in fewer regions. These limits exclude micro-earners, especially in emerging markets. Stablecoins make even $5 bonuses viable. This unlocks a broader creator base and gives Meta a competitive edge in the long-tail economy.

It’s also a strategic beachhead. If successful, the same rails could support merchant payments, P2P transfers, and marketplace escrow across Meta’s platforms.

With regulatory momentum and billions of users, Meta’s stablecoin moves could quietly mainstream stablecoins.

Senate Gridlock Threatens U.S. Stablecoin Leadership

The GENIUS Act failed to advance in the Senate after last-minute political backlash. Democrats withdrew support amid concerns over Trump-linked crypto ventures, despite major Republican concessions.

The failure puts both stablecoin oversight and broader crypto legislation at risk. If a vote doesn’t happen by Memorial Day, it may miss the reconciliation window. This jeopardizes the bill’s chances this year. 

Negotiations resume this week. Bill supporters warn that further delay risks ceding U.S. leadership in global digital finance and I very much agree.

🚀 Product Launches

Bridge Launches USDB Stablecoin for Developers (read more and here)

Kyrgyzstan's Gold-Backed Dollar Pegged Stablecoin USDKG to Debut in Q3 (read more)

Asset Manager VanEck Joins Tokenization Race With U.S. Treasury Fund Token (read more)

Brale launches stablecoin on/off ramp platform with zero fees (read more)

Aptos Labs & Stablecoin Standard Form Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Stablecoin-Powered Payments Infrastructure (read more)

Mastercard to Roll Out New Stablecoin Cards With MoonPay (read more)

💸 Fundraises and M&A

Anchorage Digital to Acquire Mountain Protocol to Accelerate Institutional Adoption of Stablecoins(read more)

Robinhood Acquires WonderFi, a leading Canadian crypto trading company (read more)

⚡ Stablecoin Adoption 

IDRX Partners with MANSA for Enhanced Cross-Border Payments (read more)

Meta in talks to deploy stablecoins three years after giving up on landmark crypto project (read more)

Global Dollar Network Reaches 25+ Member Milestone, Enabling Stablecoin Adoption Globally (read more)

Tether are working on a Wallet Development Kit, a Template Non-Custodial Wallet (read more)

Chainlink, J.P. Morgan, and Ondo Finance Partner To Bring Bank Payment Rails to Tokenized Asset Markets (read more)

⚖️ Regulatory Developments

GENIUS stablecoin bill fails first Senate vote, despite some progress (read more)

SEC proposes exemption for tokenization, DLT securities (read more)

Bank of England hints at stance on UK stablecoins (read more)

SEC announces $50M settlement with Ripple Labs (read more)

🍻 Upcoming Events

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This Week in Fintech

💬 Posts of the Week

📖 Reads of the Week

In The month fintechs embraced stablecoins, Sam Broner of a16z summarizes the timeline of stablecoin announcements from the last six weeks, how they fit into the bigger picture, and why they matter.

In Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory Austin Campbell critiques the Democrats’ rejection of the GENIUS Act which failed 48-49 despite potential benefits like enhancing U.S. financial innovation and curbing fraud, highlighting their misalignment with tech-savvy and underbanked communities.