Express, based in France’s Carrefour franchise, has started offering a 20% discount to shoppers who pay for groceries with Bitcoin, according to a post circulating on X, formerly known as Twitter, and local news reports. This action attracted worldwide attention, as Carrefour is one of the world’s largest grocery groups with more than 14,000 stores in more than 40 countries.
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Local news and posts near the store explain that you can check out using Bitcoin using the Lightning Network, a payment system built to support faster and cheaper Bitcoin transactions. Cases of similar systems have also been observed in the past in which some Carrefour network stores in France have attempted to accept Bitcoin through franchise selection, but this discount promotion has received renewed attention as it directly compensates customers for using Bitcoin at checkout.
Financial institutions extend crypto rails through 2025
In 2025, regulations regarding access to Bitcoin in regulated exchange-traded products will further expand, further strengthening the tokenized stablecoin infrastructure. black rock The company is also moving towards expanding its access outside the US, with Reuters reporting in February 2025 that the company was looking to roll out its Bitcoin exchange-traded products in Europe, although its flagship spot product in the US continues to grow.
fidelity It was also a sign of further involvement beyond intermediary exposure. In March 2025, Reuters reported that Fidelity was experimenting with a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, indicating that large asset managers are interested in regulated, tokenized cash that flows easily across the network, rather than older systems. At the payments level, large consumer and retail platforms have taken steps to make stablecoins more useful in mainstream business applications.
May 2025, Stripes introduced Stablecoin Financial Accounts aims to serve businesses in a wide range of countries, positioning stablecoins as a global money management medium. The use of stablecoins was expanded again by Stripe in 2025, adding the option to use stablecoin subscriptions on the platform.
PayPal also scaled its stablecoin strategy in 2025. In April 2025, the company said: paypal Venmo accounts are eligible to receive rewards in the following ways: PYUSD In addition to managing your balances, you can also use those balances for payments and transfers, which allows you to PYUSD Disbursements will be made through Stellar until the necessary regulatory approvals are received. In July 2025, PayPal also announced a product called Pay with Crypto that positions crypto transactions as a tool for merchants to use to settle payments faster and conduct cross-border business.
In June 2025, Reuters Robinhood complained that Blockchain Rail introduced tokenized equities, used to represent stocks and ETFs, to customers in the EU and also expanded crypto-related products to the region. These actions are indicative of a larger trend. Major institutions are not only offering cryptocurrencies as investment products, but are also building payment and custody systems that treat blockchain networks as financial piping.
Regulation and Control: Drivers of Institutional Adoption
Regulated custody and clear supervisory structures have been significant constraints to the institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies. In 2025, there were many developments towards further integration with regulated financial structures.
bitgo introduced Stablecoin-as-a-Service in 2025, positioning it as a turnkey solution for stablecoin issuance and operations, including compliance and operational layers, establishing itself as an institutional rail provider. Another area of focus for the company in development is international licensing growth, including growth in Dubai through the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).
In the United States, federal regulatory action gained attention by the end of 2025. Reuters indicated that the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has pre- or conditionally approved national trust bank structures for various crypto companies, including BitGo and other players with significant market share in the industry. In a separate report, AFP said BitGo received OCC approval in connection with its conversion to a federally chartered national trust bank.
Stablecoin consistency management has also been improved within the jurisdiction. The Circle also highlighted the history of compliance in Canada, stating: USDC is the first stablecoin issuer to meet the new requirements for listing in Canada, prior to the delisting of non-compliant stablecoins. In the US, Circle announced that it would file an application with the OCC in mid-2025, and subsequently received conditional National Trust Charter approval, highlighting how stablecoin issuing providers plan to undergo increased regulation.
Stablecoin payments have also been brought much closer to production by payment network operators. In December 2025, Visa announced the following introductions: USDC We are positioning payments in the U.S. for some of our issuer and acquirer partners as a step toward modernizing payments flows. Visa has since reported through its crypto leaders that stablecoin payment volumes are increasing, although still small compared to Visa’s annual payments.
If larger retailers follow suit with such incentives, it could prove to be a test of how user habits, merchant integration costs, and even a lack of clear consumer benefits at checkout can slow the adoption of crypto payments. To date, the Carrefour Express discount appears to be a local experiment that has already become a topic of global discussion, taking place at a time when banks, asset managers, fintechs, and payment networks were already developing crypto-related infrastructure since early 2025.
