Despite the hot signs of Stablecoin Summer, the entire Crypto circle seems surprisingly cold, with funds even flowing out to speculate on concept stocks in the US market. Why?
Arthur's long article clearly outlines the past and present of stablecoins - Amazon and Walmart exploring stablecoin issuance, Visa's stock price falling, and the entire stablecoin track heating up. But what surprised me is that despite the hot signs of Stablecoin Summer, the entire Crypto circle seems surprisingly cold, with funds even flowing out to speculate on concept stocks in the US market. Why?
- Why is the Crypto Native narrative "indifferent" to the stablecoin boom?
1) This is interesting. Recall when Trump was issuing a coin, everyone was excitedly anticipating the spillover effect of a presidential coin. So why is the Crypto circle "confused" when a stablecoin with Mass Adoption potential arrives?
In fact, Arthur provided the answer: "Without distribution channels, there's no stablecoin business". The core of the stablecoin business model is distribution channels, and the three viable channels Arthur summarized are crypto exchanges, Web2 giants, and traditional banks. This seems barely related to most Crypto industry building directions?
Look, Tether's success isn't due to superior technology, but because it seized essential needs and channels. Even Circle, with more standardized technology, has to share 50% interest income with Coinbase to secure distribution channels. From this perspective, projects trying to challenge USDT with "better technology" are basically daydreaming.
For retail investors, it's even more understandable - stablecoins are too "boring", lacking the 10x or 100x get-rich-quick imagination space, so the Crypto circle naturally feels indifferent.
- Web2 Giants are the Real "Disruptors"
2) Arthur's judgment on traditional banks is sharp - "basically hopeless". The 7x24 borderless US dollar system vs. the bank system with redundant personnel and bureaucratic processes are not even on the same competitive level. The decline of banks has instead created huge survival space for stablecoins.
The real disruptive potential lies with Web2 giants like Meta, X, and Google, because they come with user bases and payment scenarios. When Amazon and Walmart start exploring stablecoins, this isn't just simple business expansion, but directly "feeding" billions of mainstream users into Crypto infrastructure.
In my view, this is the true value of Stablecoin Summer - not providing short-term get-rich opportunities for the Crypto circle, but quietly infiltrating Crypto infrastructure into the mainstream world.
When billions of Web2 users start using stablecoins daily, the infrastructure needs for DeFi, DeAI, GameFi, and other tracks will correspondingly strengthen - a long-term growth buff that's imperceptible in the short term but cannot be ignored.
- The "Subtle Influence" Behind the IPO Wave
3) Of course, even a seemingly cold Summer will have speculation. Arthur's reminder is spot on: Circle's IPO is just the first shot, with many "imitators" to follow. Most of these projects lack real distribution capabilities, but under the stablecoin narrative, their market dream rate will be exaggerated.
But returning to Arthur's core judgment - projects without distribution channels are basically doomed. Crucially, this part of the Summer expectation might have nothing to do with most retail investors, who can just watch from the sidelines.
However, from another perspective, this IPO wave is essentially "popularizing" crypto value to Wall Street. When traditional investors start seriously studying stablecoin business models, this "subtle influence" is what's most worth contemplating.
In my view, Stablecoin Summer is the turning point where Crypto transforms from an "edge innovation experimental field" to a "mainstream business alternative".
Currently, it's normal for the Crypto circle to not feel the heat, because the game rules have changed, and they are no longer the protagonists. But in the long term, when crypto infrastructure carries more real-world needs, every crypto native will be a beneficiary of this infrastructure upgrade.
