Stripe CEO Patrick Collison predicts that stablecoins will revolutionize the financial landscape, compelling banks and other financial institutions to offer customers higher yields on their deposits to remain competitive. This shift is driven by the increasing adoption and market capitalization of stablecoins, which are digital representations of fiat currencies that operate on blockchain networks.
Collison's statement was made in response to a post by venture capitalist Nic Carter, who highlighted the rise of yield-bearing stablecoins. Collison pointed out the discrepancy between the average interest rate for savings accounts in the US (0.40%) and the EU (0.25%) and the potential for depositors to earn more market-reflective returns through stablecoins. He also noted that some lobbying efforts are underway to restrict rewards associated with stablecoin deposits, but he believes that being "consumer-hostile" is a losing position for traditional financial institutions.
Since 2023, stablecoins have experienced steady growth in market capitalization and user adoption, particularly after the passage of the GENIUS stablecoin bill in the United States. While the GENIUS bill established a regulatory framework for stablecoins, it also prohibited yield-sharing, leading to pushback from the banking industry. Banks and their congressional allies argued that interest-bearing stablecoins could undermine the banking system and erode market share. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand voiced concerns that stablecoin issuers offering interest could discourage people from using local banks.
However, leaders in the cryptocurrency industry view the growth of stablecoins as a natural progression, with some predicting that they will eventually replace traditional fiat payments. Reeve Collins, co-founder of stablecoin issuer Tether, believes that all currency will eventually become stablecoins, retaining names like dollars, euros, or yen.
Stripe has taken a significant step in this direction by launching "Open Issuance," a platform that allows businesses to create and manage their own custom stablecoins with minimal technical implementation. This platform, powered by Bridge (a stablecoin infrastructure company acquired by Stripe in 2024 for $1.1 billion), enables businesses to control token minting and burning while selecting reserve composition between cash and treasury instruments. BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, and Superstate handle treasury management, with Lead Bank providing cash liquidity.
According to Stripe, companies benefit most from controlling their own token infrastructure rather than depending on third-party issuers. Zach Abrams, co-founder and CEO of Bridge, stated that "With Open Issuance, businesses can build on top of stablecoins that they customize and control, so that the benefits of this important technology flow directly to the people and businesses using them". Patrick Collison emphasized that Open Issuance helps anyone monetize stablecoins and share the yield. There is a small platform fee (starting at 50 bps); all yield above that flows to the stablecoin creator.
Stripe's Open Issuance platform offers businesses several advantages, including the ability to earn rewards for originating stablecoins and use those incentives to attract customers. Businesses can now accept recurring stablecoin payments, and Stripe's Optimized Checkout Suite now accepts stablecoin payments by default. US businesses with Financial Accounts can hold stablecoin balances, convert between fiat currencies, spend with a locally issued card, and send stablecoins to crypto wallets cross-border.
The first stablecoin to launch on the Open Issuance platform was CASH, an open-loop stablecoin designed by Phantom. Metamask's mUSD and USDH, built by Native Markets for Hyperliquid, will also be issued on the platform.
Will Gaybrick, president of technology and business at Stripe, stated, "Across stablecoins and AI, Stripe's role is to pull frontier technology out of the experimental and into the mainstream". He added, "With the advent of stablecoins and AI, we're at the dawn of a new online economy. And we're relentlessly focused on channeling its many opportunities to help our customers grow".
Stripe also launched the capability for businesses to accept recurring stablecoin payments through its Optimized Checkout Suite and businesses with Financial Accounts to hold stablecoins and convert them to and from fiat. Furthermore, Stripe is preparing for "agentic commerce" through the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), developed with OpenAI, enabling AI agents to complete purchases inside tools like ChatGPT's Instant Checkout.
