Amazon’s New Coin Could Break the Banks 🪙😳

Plus: Netflix for travel points, TikTok’s AI influencers, and the Navy wants your startup.

Author

Daniel Pereira
June 17, 2025

Biz Analyst Club Newsletter
by The Business Model Analyst

Hello, Biz Enthusiasts!
Amazon and Walmart are done playing by the banks’ rules (good luck, Visa). Deloitte is now paying employees to de-stress with LEGO, and travel points may finally be getting their “euro moment.” Meanwhile, TikTok is pumping out fake influencer sponcon, and the U.S. Navy is suddenly acting like a VC. Business is weird. Let’s dive in.

Hot Takes 🚀

1. Amazon & Walmart Want Their Own Stablecoins 💳🪙
What if two of the biggest retailers in the world created their own money? That's not a sci-fi plot — it's real life. Amazon and Walmart are exploring stablecoins to dodge credit card fees and bank delays. It’s like skipping the middleman… by inventing your own currency.
👉 Here’s how they could rewrite the payments game

2. Deloitte Will Now Reimburse You $1,000 for… LEGO 🧱🧠
Feeling stressed at work? Deloitte’s new well-being policy lets you expense LEGO kits. Yes, that includes the $850 Millennium Falcon. The goal? Help employees “thrive mentally, physically, and financially.” Therapy is expensive. LEGO is forever.
👉 Check out Deloitte’s build-a-burnout-fix strategy

3. TikTok Just Automated the Influencer 🧍‍♀️➡️🤖
Say goodbye to human influencers. TikTok’s new AI tools can create fake brand ambassadors who try on clothes, sell gadgets, and never ask for a raise. It’s influencer marketing without the… humans. And yes, it’s mildly terrifying.
👉 See what’s replacing your favorite TikTok creator

4. A “Universal” Travel Rewards Currency May Be Coming ✈️💸
Imagine one point system to rule them all. Travel execs are flirting with a unified currency across airlines and hotels. Sounds dreamy—until you realize airlines make billions from loyalty programs. Will they actually give that up? Doubt it. But still, fingers crossed.
👉 Read what a Netflix-for-travel-points future could look like

5. Shopify Just Declared UX Design Dead 🎨💀
Shopify dropped the “UX” from job titles and told designers to stop optimizing and start making magic. According to their chief design officer, AI can handle the usable stuff — your job is to make things unforgettable. Brutal news for wireframe fans.
👉 Why Shopify says UX is boring now


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Brains fried? Hearts full? Slightly tempted to invoice your boss for LEGO therapy while pitching your startup to the Navy? Between AI influencers stealing brand deals and Amazon launching its own currency, it’s hard to tell if we’re in a business newsletter or a Black Mirror episode. Breathe deep, stay curious, and maybe don’t let your coffee machine connect to the blockchain just yet.

❝

Solve a real problem. The bigger the problem, the bigger the opportunity.

Vinod Khosla

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