MoonPay's Caroline Pham predicted branded stablecoins would power loyalty rewards
In brief
- Caroline Pham predicted branded stablecoins would act as loyalty and rewards vehicles for onchain commerce.
- Pham made the forecast in a January 13, 2026 podcast interview, per Crypto Briefing.
- Pham joined MoonPay in December 2025 after serving as acting CFTC chair.
- MoonPay integrated with M0 in November 2025 to support customized, interoperable stablecoins.
- MoonPay announced a PYUSDx launchpad designed to support programmable rewards.
Why put loyalty points onchain?
Pham's case rests on where the tokens live. She envisioned branded stablecoins sitting onchain as programmable, transferable tokens that can be used across merchant platforms, without a central clearinghouse governing redemptions.
Programmability is where the model gets specific. Crypto Briefing laid out the kinds of conditions such a token could carry: bonus rewards on certain product categories, expiry if it isn't used within a quarter, or perks that unlock once a customer hits a spending threshold.
It's a forecast, and Pham presented it as one.
MoonPay's stablecoin build-out
Pham joined MoonPay in December 2025, coming straight from the acting CFTC chair role she'd held from January through December that year. A month earlier, MoonPay had integrated with M0 to enable the issuance and management of customized, interoperable stablecoins. The stated goal of its enterprise stablecoin services is to let businesses issue stablecoins without navigating compliance and operational complexity on their own.
More deals followed. MoonPay announced a partnership with Deel aimed at cross-border payroll through stablecoins around February 2026, and a collaboration with XO Cash focused on athlete bonuses came in approximately March 2026 (both dates as Crypto Briefing gave them). The company also announced a PYUSDx launchpad designed to support programmable rewards.
The numbers MoonPay cites
MoonPay cited a stablecoin market cap of approximately $320 billion by early 2026, according to Crypto Briefing. It also pointed to stablecoin transaction volumes of about $33 trillion for 2025 and over $28 trillion for the first quarter of 2026 alone.
Those are MoonPay's figures, not independent counts. The company says its own enterprise network spans more than 30 million users and over 500 enterprise partners, which is the base it's working from as it pitches stablecoin issuance to businesses.
Frequently asked questions
What did Caroline Pham predict about branded stablecoins?
In a January 13, 2026 podcast interview, MoonPay's Caroline Pham predicted branded stablecoins would function as loyalty and rewards vehicles for onchain commerce. Brands would issue their own stablecoins, customers would earn them through purchases, and the tokens would move across merchant networks, according to Crypto Briefing.
How would programmable loyalty stablecoins work?
Pham envisioned branded stablecoins living onchain, making them programmable and transferable across merchant platforms without a central clearinghouse governing redemptions. Crypto Briefing gave examples of conditions such tokens could carry, including bonus rewards on specific product categories, expiry if unused within a quarter, or perks unlocked at spending thresholds.
