According to Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, the world of stablecoins is on the verge of a big shift. He compares the moment to the iPhone’s launch in 2007. Right now, digital dollar developers are watching closely, but not every team has jumped in yet.
Major retailers and fintech firms are testing the waters. The coming months could decide whether programmable money truly takes off.
Shopify, for its part, plans to let merchants accept USDC by June 13. A select group of sellers will get early access through a collaboration with Coinbase. Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke said they think stablecoins are a natural way to pay online, and they’ve built a smart contract to make it work.
According to Allaire, we’re “not quite yet” at the point where every coder sees programmable dollars as a go‑to tool. Teams still rely on card networks and bank APIs because those are tried and tested.
To flip the switch, stablecoin platforms will need better software kits, clearer guidelines on legal and tax rules, and more examples of success. Once these pieces are in place, developers might finally move from curiosity to full‑blown adoption.
Stablecoins now present what I believe is the first credible opportunity to onboard a billion people into crypto.
Those figures make it hard to ignore the scale of demand for digital dollars. If that trend continues, it will change the way people send money, shop online, or even trade cryptocurrencies.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
