The Writing’s on the Wall: Payments Are Evolving
Bitcoin Commerce should have stablecoin payments in its crosshairs.
From Lightning stablecoins to Southeast Asian momentum—here’s what’s moving in Bitcoin Commerce.
Uber, Shopify, Stripe, Walmart, Amazon - all have stablecoins on the radar
Promising signs for Bitcoin adoption in Thailand and Vietnam
The Bitcoin Lightning Network is quietly powering a tech boom
Bitcoin Jungle founder reflects on making a Bitcoin circular economy
Looking for a laugh? Check out our Bitcoin meme of the week at the back of the Roundup! 😁
Find it all here, and thanks from the Velas Team!
Tech Giants have Stablecoins on the Radar
There’s been a recent flurry of reports that some of the biggest names in tech are investigating stablecoins as a way to streamline their payment process.
If you’ve ever had a detailed look at how traditional payments work, this likely comes as little surprise. Check out this diagram we made on the flow of a traditional credit card payment.
(If you’re curious to how this all works, check out our article on payments here)
Seems ripe for simplification, right? Each of those steps in the process come not only at a monetary cost, but also at a cost in speed and complexity.
Stablecoins and peer to peer payment systems have the potential to vastly simplify the system. And the Bitcoin Lightning Network has a combination of instant settlement, low cost, decentralization and global reach that could be the backbone of this new system.
Have a look at a simpler peer-to-peer payment system.
The question isn’t if this system will be simplified—it’s how and by whom.
With stablecoins gaining traction and the Bitcoin Lightning Network offering a ready-built foundation, the race is on to reshape global payments.
And those who understand the tech—and move early— could stand to lead the next era of commerce.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/shopify-partners-coinbase-stripe-landmark-182707374.html
https://cointelegraph.com/news/walmart-amazon-explore-stablecoins-payments
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The Bitcoin Lightning Network is quietly powering a tech boom
Check out this feature in Bitcoin Magazine that analyzes the quiet boom happening in Lightning Network tech companies, including the recent news from Block that it is earning about 10% yield on the bitcoin deployed to their routing node!
In fact, deploying liquidity on the Lightning Network could be a logical step for bitcoin treasury companies, which may represent a unique win-win: allowing treasury companies to earn yield on their BTC as well as help the Bitcoin Network scale as a payment network.
The report goes in depth, looking at some of the projects in the Ego Death portfolio that are helping to power the boom in the Lightning Network.
Read more in Bitcoin Magazine here:
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/bitcoin-tech-booms-lightning-data-defies-digital-gold-narrative
Southeast Asian Bitcoin Adoption Moving Forward
Two sets of stories from Southeast Asia caught our eye for this edition, with both Thailand and Vietnam making moves to position themselves as tech hubs for crypto projects.
Vietnam approved a law clarifying crypto regulation and Thailand approved a five-year tax exemption on profits on the sale of bitcoin.
It’s potentially powerful news as Vietnam already ranks in the top 10 countries in the world for crypto adoption!
Find out lots more here:
https://cointelegraph.com/learn/articles/bitcoin-adoption-by-country
https://cointelegraph.com/news/vietnam-legalizes-crypto-sets-digital-tech-ambitions
https://atlas21.com/thailand-abolishes-taxes-on-bitcoin-five-year-tax-exemption
How Bitcoin Jungle created a circular economy in Costa Rica
Check out this great interview with Bitcoin Jungle founder Richard Scotford, where he walks through his story of putting Costa Rica on the Bitcoin adoption map.
There’s a lot of great tips in here for getting merchants on board with Bitcoin Commerce. Check it out:
https://bitcoinnews.com/interviews/bitcoin-jungle-richard-scotford/
And our Bitcoin Commerce meme of the week.............🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁
💼 Bitcoin job hunting?
BitVocation released a 2024 Bitcoin Job Market Data report as well as posting jobs to their LinkedIn page.
👷Looking for funding for an open source Bitcoin project?
Check out our list of grants available that specialize in funding open source development for Bitcoin projects. Know a grant that’s not on the list? Let us know at engineering@velascommerce.com.
⚡Bitcoin Scholarship Applications are open
100% of college tuition covered to encourage the brightest minds to contribute to bitcoin open source development. Deadline to apply is July 30, 2025.