Claire

I tell human interest stories with @sfunscene. When I'm not doing that, I'm launching payments products @lithic. Otherwise: sf policy, cooking, & outdoors

[Claire @claireisloading]

what r u up to august 8??🕺🕺
come hang out with @sfunscene for our one year anniversary/issue 3 launch party!

i'm so grateful i get to create with talented kind humans like @stevnhoward @zodattack @2kAnGiE @juliamcesana @LicenseToNikhil @vdenittis @tdro_s @telekineticpxls

[Claire @claireisloading]

@davidnjiang ah! this is so useful 🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️

[Claire @claireisloading]

@BarbarianCap I didn't write this for commerce but I do agree with the analysis! IMO this is a more believable short/medium term scenario than citrini's prediction of indie apps coming for Doordash - esp in the case of larger volume purchases like in travel

@venturedan good one cv team!

[MeekMill @MeekMill]

I need a GitHub too! Is it like that or nah?

[Claire @claireisloading]

@Appyg99 Andrew Dresner makes a great point about the volume of consumer shopping that's amenable to agentic commerce being really just 5%. IMO platforms like pinterest and meta will still hold the bag for discretionary $
https://t.co/SVEsbSH4tN

[Sheel Mohnot @pitdesi]

This is correct: consumer stablecoin merchant acceptance in the west is a complete non-starter imo.

You can't build a new payment network without exclusivity or a compelling forcing function (rewards, credit), the inertia of status quo is too strong. And the current card-based system for point of sale isn't actually broken for most merchants and consumers in developed markets.

Every successful payment network in our lifetime launched with some form of exclusivity or a killer reward:

Crypto: Served the genuinely unbanked, people in hyperinflationary economies, and grey/black markets where traditional rails were unavailable or unworkable
PayPal: Was initially the only practical way to transact peer-to-peer online and became the default payment method for eBay, which created a massive captive marketplace... they also started by giving out free money
Discover Card: Launched with exclusive acceptance at Sears (then the world's largest retailer) and offered electronic payment when that was still novel - essentially a closed loop that bootstrapped network effects
WeChat/AliPay: Credit cards weren't common in China, this was the only way for most people to interact with social media/digital services
Starbucks: The one case where it isn't exclusive (you can still pay with card) but they've done a good job giving out killer rewards to frequent users (more stars)
Fortnite/Roblox: You get the idea

Stablecoin checkout has: No captive audience, no exclusive inventory, and no problem it solves better than cards for the average consumer or merchant.

You're asking both sides to adopt new infra/workflows... for what marginal benefit? People always talk about fees but there's too much friction for that to matter, and consumers like their credit card rewards.

The one exception might be AI agents: Cards currently require human identity, credit checks, and personal liability - AI agents don't fit that framework. They might make thousands of micro-transactions daily where card fees don't make sense. Machine-to-machine commerce could need programmable, instant settlement without human-in-the-loop friction.

But even here, if the AI is just acting on behalf of a human/company, you can put a card on file. And critically - are there AI-native marketplaces that only accept stablecoins? Without exclusive AI-specific commerce at scale, you're back to the same bootstrap problem. Certainly AI's aren't going to be buying stuff at the in-person merchant networks being built.

To Nikil's point - the real opportunity is cards backed by stablecoins. This makes sense because it doesn't require rebuilding acceptance infrastructure, just like Apple Pay is a nice front-end but uses existing infra.

[Marcel van Oost @oost_marcel]

Payments companies with key stablecoin offerings announced in 2025 👇

Who's missing?

[Claire @claireisloading]

Boats and bathers an hour north

[Claire @claireisloading]

Chef's table but make it for the most forward-thinking architects

[Claire @claireisloading]

@zebriez “Sharp” or “dialed in” comes to mind here

[Claire @claireisloading]

@sf_mills is it a red flag for a congressional candidate to be most engaged at the national level focused on funding and platform rebuilding knowing how much the left has an uphill battle, or strategic? Now, if he was running for supe the lack of local involvement would be way worse to me

[Claire @claireisloading]

@isareksopuro I’d be so into an sf policy + vibe coding meetup 👀👀

[Claire @claireisloading]

@valleyfaraday LOL. if you can make it through the gauntlet of bay area self-righteousness and succeed as a mid-tier alum you can do anything

[Claire @claireisloading]

@AlexH_Johnson +1 on the $80b remittance mkt. My family’s monthly routine revolved around getting to Wells Fargo early enough in the month to make sure my grandparents in LatAm were taken care of - exorbitant wire fees & unpredictable exchange. Instantly settled USDC would be a game changer

[Claire @claireisloading]

@HipCityReg I’m so sad to be out our town during this! Please PLEASE record and or do a part 2

[Claire @claireisloading]

unsurprisingly, san franciscans rarely care about humor or looks when it comes to connections.

41 of them told me about their love & sex lives for a piece in the @sfunscene winter '25 issue. FINALLY got to myself together to visualize the data...
https://t.co/Qxo4GaBgSB

[Claire @claireisloading]

@harpriiya this is so thoughtfully designed-- even the fact the landing page has to finish its animation before you begin adds to the experience! knowing their geographic history would also be great for conversation starters 👀

[Claire @claireisloading]

@reshinip @nationalgrid @juliamcesana

[Claire @claireisloading]

@annarmitchell Reality in the mission might scratch the itch! Dave and Mike on the pastoral staff have pretty Keller aligned perspectives

[jake strickland @strick_jake]

Think Trump’s tariffs won’t affect you? Expect price hikes on:

•Iced tea imported from England
•Lifeguards imported from Spain
•Towels imported from Turkey
•And turkey imported from Maine

[Robin Galante Art 🎨 @RobinGalante1]

4 year plan: Refuse to engage in speculation. Make tons of art. Make friends. Be a good friend and a good neighbor. Focus on what is good and decent in this world, so it can grow.