Stable News is Lumx’s weekly curation dedicated to highlighting the most important developments in stablecoins, tokenization, and digital payments infrastructure.
We’ve reached the 100th edition of our newsletter. For over two years, we’ve been following the advance of stablecoins in the global financial system week after week. To mark this milestone, we highlight major moves: a new funding round for Tether with a projected half-trillion-dollar valuation, Phantom’s launch of its own stablecoin, SWIFT’s experiment with blockchain, and corporate stablecoins gaining traction with Stripe and Cloudflare.
Reading time: 6 minutes
Tether eyes $500 billion valuation in round with SoftBank and Ark
Tether, the issuer of USDT, is reportedly in talks to raise between $15 billion and $20 billion in exchange for a 3% stake in the company. Among the investors considering participation are SoftBank and Ark Invest. The round would value Tether at around $500 billion, putting it on par with private giants such as OpenAI and SpaceX.
According to Bloomberg, the company reported $4.9 billion in net profit in Q2, driven mainly by T-Bill yields. With more than 50% global market share in stablecoins, Tether is now seeking to diversify its revenue beyond interest income, expanding into energy, commodities, and even media.
Why this matters:
✅ Consolidates Tether as one of the world’s most valuable private companies.
✅ Shows that stablecoins are now seen as strategic assets for global investors, not just crypto infrastructure.
✅ The valuation is backed not only by record profits but also by the perception that stablecoins are a key piece of today’s digital financial system.
Phantom launches its own stablecoin and payments service
Phantom, the most popular crypto wallet in the Solana ecosystem, announced the launch of CASH, its own stablecoin in partnership with Stripe and Bridge. The token will power Phantom Cash, a payments platform featuring peer-to-peer transfers, a Visa card, and rewards on balances.
The differentiator: while traditional stablecoins concentrate revenue with the issuer, Phantom claims that 100% of net revenue will go to builders and companies using CASH. The product is currently in limited access and is expected to scale in the coming months.
Why this matters:
✅ Marks the entry of a crypto wallet with 15 million users into consumer financial services.
✅ Reinforces Solana as one of the most active ecosystems for stablecoins and payments.
✅ Points to a trend: companies with large user bases creating their own stablecoins to capture value.
SWIFT partners with Consensys and Chainlink on blockchain prototype
SWIFT, the network connecting more than 11,500 financial institutions globally, announced a partnership with Consensys and 30 banks, including Citi, JPMorgan, and Deutsche Bank, to develop a real-time blockchain payments prototype.
The project envisions a secure ledger with smart contracts to validate transactions. It’s still unclear whether it will be built on Ethereum mainnet or Linea (a Consensys-developed L2). In parallel, SWIFT advanced with Chainlink, integrating ISO 20022 messages into the Chainlink Runtime Environment to enable onchain settlements using banks’ existing infrastructure.
It’s particularly striking to see this kind of move from the consortium, long cited as the textbook example when highlighting the benefits of stablecoin technology. A telling sign that further reinforces the relevance of this innovation.
Why this matters:
✅ If only 6% of SWIFT’s volume migrated to Ethereum, the network would double in size.
✅ Another example of how blockchains are being tested at the core of global finance.
✅ Shows convergence between TradFi and DeFi, rather than open competition.
Cloudflare enters sector with NET dollar stablecoin
Cloudflare, the infrastructure giant that processes a large share of the world’s internet traffic, announced its own stablecoin: the NET Dollar. The proposal is to provide payment rails for the so-called AI agent economy, web micropayments, and API monetization.
The announcement comes right after Cloudflare and Coinbase launched the x402 Foundation, an initiative to standardize digital payments on the internet. The move follows the path of companies like Google and PayPal, which are also developing payment protocols aimed at AI.
Why this matters:
✅ Confirms that big tech is entering the space, expanding the reach of stablecoins.
✅ Highlights the role of stablecoins as drivers of the new digital economy, including AI interactions.
✅ Reinforces that stablecoins aren’t just for finance, but also for internet infrastructure.
Stripe launches tool to create stablecoins in just a few Lines of code
Stripe announced Open Issuance, a tool that allows any company to create and manage its own stablecoin in just days. The solution is supported by Bridge (acquired for $1.1 billion in 2024) and will feature reserve management by BlackRock, Fidelity, and Superstate.
The company is also reportedly seeking a federal banking license in the US, as well as a New York trust license, to comply with the GENIUS Act. The announcement was part of a broader package where Stripe presented over 40 new products.
Why this matters:
✅ Makes stablecoin issuance accessible to any company, with compliance built-in.
✅ Puts stablecoins on the same level as global payments infrastructure.
✅ Could pave the way for a boom in corporate stablecoins, accelerating competition between players.
Around Lumx
The second season of Stable Talks powered by Bitso Business continues. In the latest episode, Amit Cheela, US CEO at BVNK, discusses the behind-the-scenes of integrating stablecoins with card programs, regulatory challenges across regions, and Latin America’s role as a natural lab for digital payments.
Listen to the full episode here.
Additionally, Lumx CEO Caio Barbosa joined as a panelist at Payment Revolution, an event promoted by StartSe, debating how stablecoins are moving from shortcuts to becoming the backbone of the new payments infrastructure.
Finally, a teaser announcement was made about the Lumx Conference, an exclusive, invite-only event to be held on November 5 in São Paulo. The conference will focus on strategic discussions about stablecoins, compliance, and regulation.
In the 100th edition of Stable News, the landscape couldn’t be more symbolic: while Tether edges closer to one of the world’s highest private valuations, Stripe, Cloudflare, Phantom, and SWIFT show how different sectors are converging to build the new rails of digital money.
Stablecoins are no longer a bet, they are an ongoing battle over architecture, governance, and value capture in the digital economy.
See you in the next edition.
