The $300 billion stablecoin market, initially designed for faster global transactions, has prompted businesses to explore new use cases. This shift is driving a new phase of adoption, says Chunda McCain, co-founder of Paxos Labs, as the industry moves beyond basic infrastructure towards practical business applications. McCain noted that the initial step was adopting stablecoins, and now companies are asking what they can do with them.

Paxos Labs recently raised $12 million in strategic funding to develop a 'financial utility stack' that enables companies to turn digital assets into products through a single integration. The newly launched Amplify Suite includes three core tools: Earn, which offers yield on digital assets; Borrow, which enables lending against them; and Mint, which supports branded stablecoin issuance.

This allows firms to integrate tokens into their business and add capabilities over time. For years, enterprise crypto adoption focused on 'first-touch' capabilities like trading, custody, or issuing a stablecoin. However, these steps rarely generated returns on their own, according to McCain.

Stablecoins have been 'loss leaders' for years, but the opportunity lies in how these assets are used. Payments are a clear example: merchants typically give up 2% to 3% in fees, while stablecoin rails can reduce those costs and even generate yield on balances held on-chain.

This allows businesses to turn what has always been a cost into revenue. Some novel use cases sit at the intersection of payments and credit.

Payment providers already track merchant revenues and cash flow, which puts them in a position to underwrite loans, McCain argued. This could allow merchants to access financing based on real-time performance, while earning yield on incoming payments and settling instantly across borders. While some companies like PayPal have launched branded tokens to control payments and margins, issuing one requires significant investment in liquidity, compliance, and distribution.

To capture these benefits, not every firm needs its own stablecoin. Many companies can integrate existing stablecoins and still benefit from lower costs and added yield. The shift may lack the hype when big firms announce their own token, but it carries tangible impact on how businesses operate. Stablecoins are starting to reshape margins, unlock credit, and change how money moves globally, especially where traditional systems remain costly or slow.