Apple and Google have begun recruiting talent with experience in stablecoins and blockchain infrastructure.

On Sept. 21, blockchain media outlet Decrypt reported that Apple and Google have recently posted job listings that require, or list as preferred, understanding and experience in stablecoins, tokenised deposits and blockchain technology. The listings do not mean the companies will launch new stablecoin or blockchain products.

Apple is recruiting in New York for a strategy role in charge of Apple Pay product strategy. The role reviews new product structures and business models, partnerships and growth opportunities for consumer financial products including Apple Card and Apple Cash. Apple Card is a credit card, while Apple Cash offers functions such as person-to-person transfers and balance storage.

Apple listed understanding of stablecoins, tokenised deposits and blockchain technology as preferred qualifications for the role. It also required experience related to person-to-person payments or credit cards and knowledge of payment systems outside the United States. The job posting does not specify plans for Apple to introduce stablecoins or blockchain technology into Apple Pay, Apple Cash or Apple Card.

Google is hiring in Hong Kong for a senior architect for Google Cloud's Web3 industry. The role provides technical advice to blockchain foundations, institutional exchanges, digital-asset custodians, financial institutions pursuing real-world asset tokenisation, and decentralised application developers across the Asia-Pacific region.

Google said the role could identify common technical issues across the industry and build reusable reference architectures, while also potentially influencing Google's Web3 product roadmap. Applicants must have experience in stablecoin payment rails, tokenised deposits, custody systems, blockchain validators, zero-knowledge systems and smart contracts. The role also requires capabilities in security and regulatory compliance under local rules including those of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Securities and Futures Commission.

Google is already running a blockchain infrastructure business. Google Cloud's Universal Ledger is a service that helps financial institutions and others use distributed-ledger networks to build payment services and tokenise assets. Google says it can be used for wholesale payments and for issuance, management and settlement of tokenised assets.

Google is also among the participating companies in the stablecoin project Open USD. Open USD is a project involving more than 140 companies, including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase, BlackRock and Shopify, and aims to use a dollar-based stablecoin as global payment infrastructure.

Use of stablecoins is also expanding in the payments industry. Visa said in September that stablecoin settlement volume exceeded $20 billion on an annualised basis. It also said more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programmes are operating worldwide, and payment volume through those programmes rose about 200 percent from a year earlier.

Apple and Google's hiring comes amid this trend. Still, it is difficult to conclude from the publicly available job listings alone that Apple or Google will launch its own stablecoin or adopt a specific stablecoin service. Apple appears to be seeking expertise in stablecoins and tokenisation technology in payment product strategy, while Google is doing so in cloud and Web3 infrastructure.