Eliminating Fluctuations: Programmable Money and New Financial Safeguards

Author: Jordi Visser, Senior Wall Street Analyst; Translation: Shaw Golden Finance

We are witnessing the subtle changes happening quietly in the global financial system’s safeguards, but these shifts are so fine that they still appear as a series of isolated decisions. This is the law of system evolution: not stemming from a complete rupture, but from the convergence and integration of multiple trends. Over the past 18 months, four entirely different companies—Stripe, Uber, DoorDash, and Morgan Stanley—have each, in their own way, laid out plans for the same future in advance. Infrastructure service providers, operational enterprises, platform giants, and traditional banks are reaching a consensus around a core idea: The underlying rules of capital flow are being rewritten, ushering in a new era of currency globalization, second-level clearing, and programmable finance.

This is not merely a simple upgrade of payments but a fundamental transformation of the logic of money operation.

Stripe has long recognized the impracticality of using highly volatile cryptocurrencies as everyday payment methods. Its acquisition of Bridge in October 2024 clearly indicates its chosen direction: using stablecoins as a programmable, global settlement infrastructure. At the time, most people viewed this move narrowly, interpreting it as targeting cross-border remittances and cross-border payments. But this understanding overlooked the core essence: this is not about optimizing a specific payment scenario but about reconstructing the underlying transmission network that supports all payment activities. Bridge’s core goal is to solve the fragmentation pain points of global capital flow, shielding against obstacles like foreign exchange conversions, multi-layer banking intermediaries, and settlement delays. Stripe is not chasing industry hot narratives but directly addressing long-term structural inefficiencies: today, information flows freely across borders, but capital flow remains tightly bound by geographical boundaries.

At the Bloomberg Technology Conference in June 2025, this core insight was further clarified. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi publicly defined stablecoins as practical tools for multinational corporations. His statement is thought-provoking, not because of what he mentioned, but because of what he deliberately avoided: there was no mention of speculation, decentralization, or ideological disputes—only a focus on pure business operational value—namely, that stablecoins can significantly reduce the costs and friction of global capital flow. This sends a key signal: The large-scale adoption of stablecoins will not be driven by ideological faith but by efficiency advantages.

Recently, the industry has seen a landmark development: DoorDash is officially advancing a stablecoin payroll settlement plan in over 40 countries worldwide. At first glance, this appears to be a natural extension of industry trends, another company trying to improve payment efficiency. But this superficial interpretation masks the underlying transformation taking place.

What DoorDash is doing is not just optimizing the method of fund transfer but reshaping the mechanism of money circulation.

Essentially, DoorDash is a typical multi-sided platform: after consumers complete service payments, the funds need to be split and settled among the platform, delivery personnel, and merchants. Under traditional financial systems, this process is cumbersome and lagging: funds are pooled, transferred through multiple financial intermediaries, and then allocated later via backend reconciliation systems. The entire process depends on time cycles, middle institutions, and manual reconciliation. These shortcomings are not accidental flaws but deeply rooted structural features of traditional finance.

Stablecoins have completely overturned this old model, replacing it with a new underlying logic.

Funds can be automatically split and allocated instantly at the moment of entry.

In a programmable financial system, transaction rules and split logic are embedded directly into the payment process. When a consumer places an order and pays, platform fees are automatically deducted, and the corresponding income for delivery personnel and merchants is credited in real time. There’s no need for batch processing, no settlement delays, and no post-transaction reconciliation steps. Value distribution is no longer a separate, post hoc step but integrated into the transaction itself.

This is the most critical paradigm shift happening now.

In the traditional system reliant on intermediaries and friction points, funds are first pooled and then distributed later; in a programmable distributed financial system, funds can be allocated instantly upon receipt.

This difference directly eliminates a whole set of redundant financial infrastructure.

The traditional settlement cycle is no longer necessary, and dependence on intermediaries is greatly reduced. At the same time, it also signals the end of the “floating capital” era—for a long time, the massive amount of funds in transit created an inefficient window of opportunity for banks to earn profits. Complex backend financial systems are no longer a necessity for business operations. Most importantly, the core constraint of time within the financial system is being dismantled: time is no longer a necessary condition for multi-party settlement but becomes an optional, flexible element.

This is the key reason why DoorDash’s implementation is more significant than previous industry actions.

• Stripe insights into structural inefficiencies;
• Uber validates commercial application scenarios;
• DoorDash achieves large-scale deployment of a new model.

And the core of this new model is never just faster payments but programmable money.

Its influence extends far beyond the delivery platform itself.

All industries that require fund pooling and delayed split payments—ride-hailing, e-commerce, global payroll, supply chain settlements—can rely on this new logic to reconstruct their operational models. The long-standing pain points of delayed settlement, internal reconciliation, and fragmented split systems will gradually disappear, replaced by continuous value flow, where transaction and fund distribution occur simultaneously.

The transformation of financial risk control rules is also beginning.

For decades, traditional finance relied on process friction to maintain order: settlement delays provided time for reconciliation and auditing, intermediaries assumed regulatory and risk management roles, and strict geographical boundaries limited fund flows. These constraints are the foundational pillars that keep traditional finance stable.

Programmable money, however, replaces all human and institutional constraints with code rules.

• Smart contracts execute rules instantly, replacing time-based controls;
• Embedded automation logic within transactions replaces manual intermediary audits;
• A global unified network breaks down regional capital barriers.

Financial risk management has not disappeared; it has merely migrated from institutional oversight to software and code.

This rule migration is already fully underway.

Official endorsements from traditional financial institutions are pouring in. Morgan Stanley recently launched a stablecoin reserve asset portfolio, with a compliant, highly liquid architecture, specifically holding stablecoin-backed reserves; they also advise clients to allocate a small proportion of assets to crypto assets and have introduced a Bitcoin spot ETF. The signals are very clear: traditional finance is not outside the digital asset revolution but actively adapting and deeply integrating.

The next wave of transformation is already budding. When currency becomes programmable and flows in real time, funds will no longer stagnate after initial distribution but enter a continuous dynamic management state. AI agents can automatically handle fund flows, splitting, saving, and investing upon receipt, according to preset rules. After delivery personnel’s income is credited, part of the funds can be automatically transferred to investment accounts, short-term government bond funds, or other financial products. In this system, money is not just faster in circulation but begins to be actively managed intelligently from the moment of creation, blurring the boundaries between payments and asset management.

For a long time, time constraints have been deeply tied to the financial system: settlement cycles, batch processing, post-transaction reconciliation all depend on time buffers. In this new paradigm, time is no longer a rigid limit but a flexible option. Funds no longer need to wait for approval, be delayed in distribution, or lag in investment; circulation, allocation, and compound growth are all completed instantly.

Since 2024, foundational infrastructure changes have begun, and now they are deeply embedded in real economic applications, supported by traditional institutions. The entire financial system is not being overturned from outside but is being internally reconstructed and iterated.

This is the true face of structural change.

It will not originate from a single dramatic event but from a series of incremental steps:

• October 2024: Underlying infrastructure completes adaptation;
• June 2025: Leading operational companies recognize and implement the value;
• 2026: Fully scaled deployment of new business models;
• Present: Traditional financial institutions fully align with the trend.

Each decision is rational, pragmatic, and step-by-step, yet all point toward the same irreversible direction:

• Currency moving toward globalization;
• Transactions becoming real-time, second-level;
• Value circulation evolving into programmable flows.

DoorDash is not just adopting a new payment method but implementing a whole new financial paradigm: funds no longer need delayed distribution, but are automatically split and circulated instantly based on preset rules.

This is a fundamentally different financial system.

Like all profound structural transformations, it rarely appears as a revolutionary upheaval.

Initially, it manifests as a series of seemingly insignificant decisions.

Until accumulated changes trigger a qualitative leap, rewriting the era.