TLDR Tech / Crypto
The Stablecoin Moment: GENIUS Act, x402, and the Agent Economy
Stablecoins processed $46T in transactions in 2025 (3x Visa's $16T annual volume), and the GENIUS Act, signed July 18, formalized them as payment instruments with 1:1 reserve requirements, allowing banks to issue and settle with them. Four protocols now compete for AI-agent payment rails: Coinbase's x402, Stripe/OpenAI's ACP powering ChatGPT Instant Checkout, Google's AP2, and Stripe/Tempo's MPP. x402 processes ~$50,000 in daily volume per Artemis. Stablecoin supply is projected to reach $420B by year-end, with agentic payments being the primary driver.
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