This Week in Web3: A Crypto-Friendly SEC, Stablecoins, and Payments

Cryptocurrency may have started as a rebel yell against traditional finance, but its future is increasingly converging with it.

And with the news Wednesday (Dec. 4) that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate Paul Atkins as chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), observers are hopeful that the crypto-friendly move could turn the industry from a volatile gamble into a stable powerhouse.

Atkins, if confirmed by lawmakers, would succeed the current SEC chair Gary Gensler, who for years was considered by industry insiders to be the crypto sector’s public enemy number one.

If the SEC under his leadership adopts a more cooperative crypto tone, it could unlock new opportunities for Web3 innovation. The shift comes at a critical moment, with several high-profile lawsuits — like those involving Coinbase and Ripple — reshaping how crypto companies operate in the U.S.

A regulatory framework that balances investor protection with the sector’s need for experimentation could establish the U.S. as a global hub for crypto — something the industry has been clamoring for.

Still, that’s not to say that crypto’s wild west days are far behind it. Regulators still need to keep an eye out for bad actors and fraud. News also broke this Wednesday that the United Kingdom’s national crime agency had uncovered a multibillion-dollar money laundering scheme run out of London, Moscow and Dubai that enabled bad actors such as Russian spies and European drug traffickers to evade sanctions using cryptocurrency.

That’s part of why the next phase of the sector’s maturation will be so crucial.

The Ongoing Evolution of the Crypto Landscape

The convergence of Web3 and payments continues to pick up steam.

Nuvei on Wednesday launched a blockchain-based payment solution for merchants across Latin America, saying it enables these businesses to make faster cross-border B2B payments and settlements. The new solution allows businesses to use a Visa-supported physical or virtual card to make payments using stablecoins from a digital asset wallet anywhere Visa is accepted.

And with one of President-elect Donald Trump’s businesses, Trump Media & Technology (TMTG), reportedly eyeing getting into the crypto payments game, shopping with crypto is increasingly for more consumers than digital asset diehards and technophiles. Thanks to expanding merchant acceptance and dedicated payment processors, crypto holders can use their assets to purchase a variety of goods and services, ranging from food, airline tickets, jewelry, cars and houses.

But trading and investing the digital assets remains their top use case, and one that crypto companies are innovating to cater to.

On Wednesday (Dec. 4), cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase upgraded its Coinbase One subscription program and launched a new tier called Coinbase One Premium.

Two days earlier, on Monday (Dec. 2), digital assets solutions provider BitGo debuted a dedicated retail platform, designed to offer retail customers access to BitGo’s digital asset trading, staking, wallets and qualified custody services.

Still, it was reported Friday (Nov. 29) that retail investors may not be embracing the ongoing crypto boom the same way they did during the pandemic, perhaps because they’re recalling how quickly that 2021 bubble popped.

Stablecoins and the Future of Finance

Stablecoins have surged north of a $190 billion market capitalization, jumping 46% year over year.

For example, Tether, issuer of USDT — the world’s largest stablecoin — has seen its stablecoin token’s circulation rise to almost $133 billion, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the stablecoin market. But, as a result of the European Union’s landmark Markets in Crypto-Assets Act (MiCA), Tether, which has faced controversy throughout its history, is pulling issuance and operational support for its euro-pegged stablecoin, EURT, in the region.

Still, rather than pursuing EU’s MiCA compliance directly, Tether is reportedly pivoting its European strategy toward its Hadron platform, which will support MiCA-compliant stablecoins issued by other entities.

Elsewhere, on Monday (Dec. 2), the blockchain-based payments solutions company Orbital announced the launch of its Stablecoin Payments Dashboard.

“Stablecoins are transforming global commerce, but businesses lack clarity on how to leverage them effectively,” Orbital said in a news release.

Still, with the news Monday (Dec. 2) that the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) reportedly aims to prevent centralized exchanges from allowing their users to withdraw stablecoins to self-custodial wallets, it’s worth reiterating that a lot of the economics behind stablecoins and their monetization comes from interest income and is predicated on users holding, not using, their stablecoins.

That’s why PYMNTS unpacked how, while the promise of stablecoins is immense, their adoption comes with nuanced considerations. For finance professionals, an understanding the operational benefits, regulatory landscape and strategic implications is critical for integrating stablecoins into modern treasury operations.

After all, FinTech and crypto investor Marc Andreessen kicked off a firestorm over the weekend by alleging, on Joe Rogan’s podcast, that those two sectors — and dozens of companies backed by his namesake firm, Andreessen Horowitz — were being fundamentally “debanked” by U.S. financial institutions (FIs). But while the tech investor’s remarks may resonate with the frustrations of many in the cryptocurrency and FinTech sectors, the reality could be far more nuanced than an SEC or political assault on crypto and FinTech — and could be one that requires a particular eye toward compliance as a growth engine, rather than cost center.