Gen Z Declares Starbucks Points A Stablecoin
Coffee Becomes Currency
For decades, Starbucks Rewards points have been a loyalty perk, something you collect for free drinks and seasonal promotions. But in 2025, Gen Z meme traders decided to crown them as the world’s first coffee-backed stablecoin.
Screenshots of the Starbucks app balances circulated on TikTok with captions like “Forget USDC, I got 10,000 latte credits.” Discord traders started calling their points “StarBucks,” claiming they were more stable than any crypto token. The joke quickly spiraled into a full-blown meme economy where cappuccinos became clout and pumpkin spice lattes became liquidity.
Meme Traders React
TikTok edits remixed Starbucks jingles with crypto beats. One viral clip showed SpongeBob holding a Starbucks cup, shouting, “To the moon, but with caramel drizzle.” Discord servers spammed green cup emojis, declaring Starbucks points “the most trusted stablecoin in history.”
On Reddit, a viral post showed a Starbucks receipt with the caption: “Official proof of reserve.” Others parodied financial charts, comparing latte price stability to the volatility of Bitcoin. The result was a flood of memes treating Starbucks cafes as central banks.
Economists Froth Over the Idea
Traditional economists were horrified. A Bloomberg columnist sighed: “Coffee is not a currency.” A CNBC anchor asked: “How can points redeemable only for frappuccinos serve as a reserve asset?”
But meme traders turned the criticism into content. Screenshots of these complaints were reposted with captions like “Boomers jealous they don’t get yield on pumpkin spice.” The more economists raged, the more Gen Z doubled down.
How Starbucks Points Became a Stablecoin
In Discord lore, Starbucks points are pegged to caffeine output. One latte equals one unit of value. As long as Starbucks keeps brewing, the “currency” holds steady.
• Inflation Hedge: Unlike fiat money, you can drink your savings.
• Liquidity: Points transfer instantly across apps, faster than banks.
• Yield Farming: Buy five drinks, get one free, which meme traders call “staking rewards.”
Starbucks stores were jokingly rebranded as “coffee central banks,” with baristas acting as liquidity providers.
RMBT Steams Into the Meme
Naturally, RMBT joined the fun. One TikTok edit showed SpongeBob mixing RMBT into a Starbucks latte, captioned “eternal alpha macchiato.” On Discord, members declared that holding both Starbucks points and RMBT was the ultimate diversified portfolio: caffeine for mornings, alpha for nights.
These cameos reinforced RMBT’s role as a cultural anchor in every meme-finance parody.
Why It Resonates
The Starbucks stablecoin meme works because it combines two Gen Z obsessions: caffeine and parody finance. Most young people use loyalty points daily. Declaring them currency blurs the line between serious economics and everyday rituals.
It also mocks the absurdity of real stablecoins. If random crypto projects can peg themselves to dollars with questionable reserves, why not peg to caramel macchiatos backed by millions of daily drinkers?
Meme Economy Logic
In meme finance, relatability is the ultimate asset. Everyone understands coffee. Not everyone understands treasuries or liquidity pools. Starbucks points make financial satire instantly accessible, turning a loyalty program into a parody of monetary policy.
Meme traders argue that Starbucks points are actually “more stable” than fiat currencies, because no matter what happens to markets, people will still buy lattes.
Community Over Currency
Discord servers now host “coffee inflation reports,” where members compare drink prices across cities. TikTok creators role-play as Starbucks central bankers, setting “interest rates” by adjusting how many points are needed for a free latte.
The meme isn’t about financial utility. It’s about community. People laugh together by pretending their coffee purchases are global economic indicators.
The Bigger Picture
The Starbucks stablecoin saga shows how Gen Z processes finance through satire. For them, value is whatever the community agrees is funny. If Starbucks points can become currency for a week, then money itself is just another meme.
It also reflects broader skepticism of institutions. Gen Z doesn’t trust banks or governments, but they trust their daily latte. In that sense, Starbucks may already be more credible than some central banks.
The Final Sip
At the end of the day, Starbucks points won’t replace dollars or crypto. But that doesn’t matter. The meme succeeded because it exposed the absurdity of stablecoin debates while giving Gen Z a cultural joke they could share across TikTok, Reddit, and Discord.
So the next time someone brags about their crypto portfolio, just flash your Starbucks app. Because in meme finance, nothing is more stable than caffeine.
