TNB Tech Minute: Walmart, Amazon Consider Issuing Stablecoins
WSJ Tech News Briefing
Deep Dive
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Here's your TNB Tech Minute for Friday, June 13th. I'm Victoria Craig for The Wall Street Journal. Some of the world's biggest retailers are looking at ways to save billions of dollars in fees by leaving the traditional financial system. People familiar with the matter told the journal that Walmart, Amazon, Expedia and some airlines and other multinationals have toyed with the idea of issuing their own stablecoins in the U.S.,
Stablecoins are, for now, used to store cash or buy other cryptocurrency tokens. They're supposed to have a one-to-one exchange ratio with the dollar or other government currency. Any move by those large companies would allow them to bypass the traditional payment system and send shivers through America's banks and card networking giants.
Elsewhere, getting spammed by calls about loan offers? Their days annoying you might be numbered. Those calls, texts, and voicemails from mortgage bankers you've never heard of stem from a widely used marketing tactic called a trigger lead. And your information is likely added to a list that credit bureaus sell to other lenders who also want to give you a loan. Two bills passed in separate chambers of Congress this week could be merged into one and soon sent to the president for his signature.
And finally, growing demand for state-of-the-art fiber to power devices has led to a boom in mergers and acquisitions. The journal exclusively reports Brookfield Infrastructure Partners struck a deal for internet service provider Hotwire Communications. It's expected to value Hotwire at about $7 billion, sources said. For a deeper dive into what's happening in tech, check out Monday's Tech News Briefing podcast.
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