Visa wants to tango with stablecoins? Okay. But are they ready for the incoming meme wars that will determine the dorky novel’s winner? The U.S. Senate might be passing acts like the GENIUS Act, and Visa might be "prepared," but let’s be real: policy and preparedness don't equal adoption. Adoption, especially with today's generation, hinges on one thing: can you meme it?

Stablecoins Need to Be Relatable

Forget about awareness, payment utility and ubiquity, the stages of adoption that PayPal likes to tout. That's boomer thinking! The real stages are: can I make a joke about it, can I flex it on Twitter, and can I use it to buy a virtual cat?

Think about Dogecoin. It began, of course, as a joke, a literal meme. And it exploded. Why? Because it was relatable, it was funny, and it struck a chord with everybody’s collective consciousness at the time on the internet. Visa, with all its corporate might, needs to understand this fundamental truth: stablecoins need to be more than just stable. They need to be engaging.

The “last mile” problem Visa seeks to address – making stablecoins easier and cheaper to convert and use – is non-trivial. It’s boring. Solve that problem, and you’ve got a compelling product. Solve ‘Meme-ability’ and you instantly have a product that people will care about.

Corporate vs. Meme Culture Clash?

Visa’s been making it easy to buy and spend crypto for months. Good for them. But attaching the Visa logo to some random stablecoin and calling it a day isn’t going to work. That’s about as embarrassing as your dad trying to use TikTok – eek.

The real question is: can a giant corporation like Visa truly embrace the irreverent, anarchic spirit of meme culture? Are they ready for the inevitable backlash when a meme misfires? Can they actually be funny?

I can already see the headlines: "Visa's Stablecoin Meme Backfires, Causes Market Crash!" Or, "Visa Execs Baffled by Latest Stablecoin Craze: 'What is a Wojak?'"

The key will be for them to avoid going overboard. Authenticity is paramount. Collaborate with meme artists, allow them to run wild, and for the love of god don’t censor their work. Embrace the chaos.

Imagine if Visa did a stablecoin-backed NFT drop of original memes. Imagine if, instead, they designed their rewards program to pay out in meme-themed non-fungible tokens. What if instead they hired a Chief Meme Officer to repackage this victory in a way that connects. (I'm available, Visa. Call me.) That’s the sort of creative out-of-the-box thinking that isn’t just pie-in-the-sky dreamy talk.

Tether is Winning, Can Visa Compete?

Visa recognizes that stablecoins are experiencing rapid growth in emerging markets, particularly in areas that are becoming unbanked by traditional finance. They're right. Tether's USDT is already king in the Global South, providing financial efficiency where it's desperately needed.

Here’s the rub, Tether’s secret isn’t really technology, it’s distribution and community. In the process, they’ve created a brand, an ethos, a community, a vibe that really speaks to folks at the street level.

Visa cannot simply parachute in with a more technologically advanced stablecoin and win the race. They need to be tuned in to the local context, the cultural dynamics, and the current power structure. They need to focus on creating value—or better yet, relationships—over transactions.

Perhaps Visa would have been better off working with local meme makers in these markets to create culturally significant campaigns. Just think of the intellectual exportation of Nigeria-specific Doge memes advocating for increased financial inclusion! That’s how you win hearts and minds — and wallets.

If companies like Walmart and Amazon were to issue their own stablecoins, this would largely cut Visa and Mastercard out of the picture. This move is a serious threat to Visa’s profits.

Ultimately, Visa's stablecoin play is a gamble. After all, they have the money, the political infrastructure, and the economies of brand name recognition. The big question is this — do they have the cultural intelligence to effectively play in a meme-ified, upside-down future of finance? Will their stablecoin strategy grow to become the next Dogecoin, or will it fade away like another missed meme?

Let the meme lords decide!