📣 News and Announcements

Walmart and Amazon Are Cooking Up Their Own Crypto

The fine print

• Walmart and Amazon are exploring stablecoins as a potential customer payment option to reduce credit transaction fees.

• Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to stable assets like the U.S. dollar, minimizing volatility compared to traditional crypto like Bitcoin.

• If adopted, stablecoins could allow retailers to bypass traditional banks and credit card networks, avoiding fees paid to companies like Visa and Mastercard.

• The Wall Street Journal reports that Expedia and some airlines are also exploring stablecoins.

• A new legislative proposal, the Genius Act, is being considered in the U.S. Senate to create a regulatory framework for private companies to issue stablecoins.

• The Genius Act has passed an initial vote but still requires approval from both chambers of Congress.

• Walmart declined to comment, and Amazon hasn’t responded.

• Visa shares dropped 5% and Mastercard shares fell 4%, likely due to concerns over lost transaction fee revenue.

Shady’s take

Walmart and Amazon creating their own stablecoins is an innovative finance play. 

When you move billions a year, shaving off even 2% in payment processing fees adds up fast. They’re not trying to be crypto pioneers; they’re trying to keep more cash in-house, speed up settlements, and reduce reliance on traditional banking rails. 

It’s the same financial logic SMBs use when switching from credit cards to ACH or negotiating better payment terms, just at a much bigger scale.

What really stands out is how this merges finance with customer behavior. Imagine turning loyalty points into something spendable, transferable, or even tradable. That’s where these big players are headed. But stablecoins only work if customers trust them.

What can you learn from this

Even if you’re not Amazon or Walmart, there’s a clear takeaway: payments are evolving. 

These companies are using finance as a competitive edge, not just to cut costs but to control the full customer experience. That mindset is something every business owner can adopt. Whether you’re building loyalty programs, tightening cash flow, or thinking about how to reduce your dependency on middlemen, this is a reminder that your financial operations are just as much a growth lever as your marketing or sales.

If you're in e-commerce or services, this isn't some distant future tech. It's a signal to get smarter about the financial tools you're using and how you're communicating them to your customers. Because the ones who can simplify finance  and make it feel safe and valuable, will be the ones who win trust and stay ahead.

📣 News and Announcements

Meta’s Big AI Moment: Is This the Next Tech Boom?

The fine print

• Full automation is the goal: By end of 2026, Meta aims to deliver a fully automated ad platform where advertisers simply submit objectives and budgets. In response, its AI will generate creatives, targeting, bids, and optimization strategies—essentially removing manual campaign control. 

• AI is already boosting results: Meta reports a 5% improvement in conversion rates from AI‑powered ad ranking on Reels, and its machine-generated creatives are delivering measured lift. As of mid‑2025, roughly 5 million advertisers are using AI-based ad tools. 

• Massive investment in infrastructure: For 2025, Meta has put aside up to $68 billion to $72 billion in capital expenditure mostly to build AI/data center capacity. The company is aggressively recruiting and acquired a 49% stake in Scale AI—valued at around $14 billion—to bring on board its founder Alexandr Wang as Chief AI Officer.

• Analyst enthusiasm remains strong: Most Wall Street analysts rate Meta as a Buy, with price targets ranging between $740–$850. Analysts cite potential new revenue streams from AI-enhanced ads and business messaging tools via WhatsApp and Messenger—some projecting $40–50 billion in messaging-based opportunity by 2030.

• Strategic agency risk emerging: As Meta takes creative control via AI, there's growing concern among agencies and marketers that brand strategies and creative ownership may become fully black‑boxed. Advertisers risk reduced transparency and agency marginalization unless they maintain human oversight of messaging and creative testing

Shady’s take

Shopify beating expectations despite all the tariff uncertainty says a lot.

First, consumers are still spending.

Even with potential cost pressures in the background, people aren’t pulling back, they’re still buying from independent brands. That’s a good sign for small businesses.

Second, it shows how resilient e-commerce can be.

A lot of Shopify merchants rely on global suppliers, so changes like the end of the de minimis rule could’ve been a big hit. But the fact that sales and new merchant signups stayed strong tells me many of them either weren’t impacted, or they adapted fast, found new suppliers, shifted pricing, or focused on higher-margin products.

It’s also a reminder that uncertainty doesn’t always slow things down. Sometimes it actually pushes businesses to sharpen their strategy.

What can you learn from this

Uncertainty is always going to be part of the game, whether it’s tariffs, supply chain issues, or changing platforms. What matters is how quickly you can adapt. The businesses that kept growing on Shopify didn’t wait around. They adjusted fast, stayed close to their customers, and found ways to keep selling.

The takeaway here is that being small can actually be a strength. You’re more nimble. You can test things, shift direction, and make decisions faster than the big guys. So don’t get stuck trying to perfect everything, focus on staying responsive..

Also, the demand is still there.

People are still spending. So as long as you’re offering real value and staying sharp with your operations, there’s still a lot of room to grow, even in a tricky environment.