Stablecoins Offer Businesses a New Revenue Stream, According to Paxos Labs Co-Founder

The stablecoin market, valued at $300 billion, has evolved beyond its initial purpose of facilitating rapid global transactions. Now, businesses are exploring the potential applications of these digital currencies. This shift marks a new phase of adoption, driven by the pursuit of practical business use cases, according to Chunda McCain, co-founder of Paxos Labs. In a recent interview with CoinDesk, McCain noted that the initial focus on establishing stablecoins has given way to the question of how to leverage them. Paxos Labs, a subsidiary of Paxos, the company behind popular stablecoins such as PayPal's PYUSD and the Global Dollar (USDG), has raised $12 million in a strategic funding round. The new funds will be used to develop a 'financial utility stack' that enables companies to integrate digital assets into their products through a single integration. The Amplify Suite, launched by Paxos Labs, offers a bundle of three core tools: Earn, which provides yield on digital assets; Borrow, which allows lending against these assets; and Mint, which supports the issuance of branded stablecoins. This suite allows firms to integrate tokens into their business and add capabilities over time. McCain emphasized that stablecoins have long been considered 'loss leaders' in the enterprise crypto adoption space, primarily focused on initial capabilities such as trading, custody, or issuing a stablecoin. However, the true opportunity lies in how these assets are utilized. For instance, payments can be a significant area of cost savings, as merchants typically incur fees of 2% to 3%, while stablecoin-based transactions can reduce these costs and even generate yield on held balances. According to McCain, this represents a shift from incurring costs to generating revenue. Additionally, the intersection of payments and credit presents novel use cases. Payment providers can track merchant revenues and cash flow, positioning them to underwrite loans. This could enable merchants to access financing based on real-time performance, earn yield on incoming payments, and settle transactions instantly across borders. While these models are still in the early stages, the necessary building blocks are falling into place. McCain also noted that not every company needs to issue its own stablecoin to capture these benefits. While some companies, like PayPal, have launched branded tokens to control payments and margins, issuing a token requires significant investment in liquidity, compliance, and distribution. Instead, many firms can integrate existing stablecoins and still benefit from lower costs and added yield. This shift may lack the hype surrounding big firms launching their own tokens, but it has a tangible impact on business operations. Stablecoins are beginning to reshape margins, unlock credit, and change the way money moves globally, particularly in areas where traditional systems are costly or slow. As McCain stated, 'It might sound boring, but this is the math.'