Written by: Robert Hackett, Jeremy Zhang, a16z crypto
Compiled by: Chopper, Foresight News
For many years, stablecoins have been searching for their core identity.
Initially, stablecoins were merely a trading tool for transferring dollar assets between various exchanges. Subsequently, they evolved into savings instruments, becoming assets held long-term rather than for everyday consumption. Today, data points to a completely new direction: stablecoins are becoming a core part of global financial infrastructure.
The following nine charts illustrate the underlying trends driving this change.
Regulatory implementation accelerates market growth
For much of the stablecoin development process, regulatory uncertainty has long limited institutional investment. With the enactment of the GENIUS Act, the regulatory framework has become clearer. This act did not originate the industry trend, but rather accelerated its development.
Changes in stablecoin trading volume before and after the passage of the GENIUS Act
The United States passed the GENIUS Act, establishing for the first time a federal-level regulatory framework for stablecoin issuance. Data clearly demonstrates the policy's impact: in the quarters prior to the act's enactment, stablecoin trading volumes had already been steadily increasing; after the act took effect, growth accelerated further, reaching approximately $4.5 trillion in the first quarter of 2026.
MiCA has driven the non-USD stablecoin market.
The implementation of the European cryptocurrency regulatory framework, the Markets in the Crypto Assets Act (MiCA), presents a more complex picture. After MiCA fully came into effect at the end of 2024, several major exchanges delisted USDT for compliance reasons, directly driving a short-term surge in the trading volume of non-USD stablecoins, peaking at over $40 billion.
Subsequently, market trading volume stabilized, with the overall base significantly higher than before MiCA's launch, and monthly trading volume remaining stable at $15 billion to $25 billion. New regulations spurred a previously virtually nonexistent market for non-USD stablecoins, creating a strong demand for them.
Stablecoin commercial payment scenarios continue to expand
Perhaps the most important shift in market structure lies in how people actually use stablecoins.
Stablecoin commercial payments are concentrated in the C2C sector.
In terms of transaction volume, consumer-to-consumer (C2C) transactions far outpaced other sectors, reaching 789.5 million transactions in 2025. Consumer-to-business (C2B) transactions, on the other hand, saw the fastest growth, with the number of transactions increasing from 124.9 million in 2024 to 284.6 million in 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 128%.
Growth trend of stablecoin payment card infrastructure
Data from stablecoin payment cards also confirms this trend.
Stablecoin payment card projects powered by Rain technology (including Etherfi Cash, Kast, and Wallbit) saw their monthly collateralized deposits surge from nearly zero in November 2024 to over $300 million per month by early 2026. While this capital serves as collateral for payments and is not direct stablecoin spending, its growth trajectory is highly representative: stablecoin commercial payment scenarios are experiencing a comprehensive resurgence.
Stablecoin circulation velocity has increased significantly
The turnover rate of each US dollar stablecoin is constantly accelerating.
Stablecoin circulation velocity trend
Since the beginning of 2024, the velocity of stablecoin circulation (adjusted monthly transaction volume ÷ circulating market capitalization) has nearly doubled, climbing from 2.6 times to 6 times. This accelerated velocity of circulation means that the growth rate of demand for stablecoin transactions has exceeded the rate of new issuance, significantly improving the utilization efficiency of existing funds.
This is also a core characteristic of mature payment networks: the underlying currency is used frequently, rather than simply held passively.
Transaction structure changes, payment attributes become more prominent
If transactions, fund flows, and exchange mechanisms (which constitute the majority of stablecoin transactions) are excluded, the amount of payments between different participants last year was estimated at $350 billion to $550 billion.
B2B stablecoin payments dominate
Business-to-business (B2B) transactions remain the core driver of stablecoin payments, maintaining its leading position in terms of volume. Meanwhile, niche scenarios such as personal transfers and merchant payments are rapidly expanding.
Stablecoin payments have a high geographical concentration.
Geographically, stablecoin payment activities are not evenly distributed.
Asia is a major region for stablecoin payments.
Nearly two-thirds of the transactions came from Asia, mainly from Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan.
The North American market accounts for about a quarter, and Europe about 13%. The combined size of Latin America and Africa is extremely small, less than $1 billion.
Domestic stablecoins operate on a global underlying network.
The rise of non-dollar stablecoins is not unique to Europe; they are also rapidly gaining popularity in emerging markets, each with its own driving logic.
Monthly transaction volume changes of the Brazilian Real-pegged stablecoin BRLA
Brazil is a prime example. The monthly transaction volume of the Brazilian real-backed stablecoin BRLA grew from almost zero at the beginning of 2023 to approximately $400 million at the beginning of 2026, with its integration with Brazil's instant payment network PIX greatly boosting its adoption.
The cross-border payment function of stablecoins is weakening.
Stablecoins have long been widely defined as cross-border tools, but their actual share in cross-border transactions is declining.
The proportion of domestic transactions rose from about 50% in early 2024 to nearly 70% in early 2026. This change sends a clear signal: the core value of stablecoins is no longer limited to cross-border remittances and foreign exchange; they are gradually transforming into localized everyday payment tools, relying on a global underlying network.
Summarize
Based on all the data, a clear industry picture has emerged, and it differs significantly from past expectations: It was widely believed that the core value of stablecoins lay in cross-border transfers. The reality is quite the opposite; stablecoins are undergoing deep localization. Currently, USD-denominated stablecoins hold a dominant position, but stablecoins are not simply tools for exporting USD. Non-USD stablecoins backed by local fiat currencies such as the Euro and the Brazilian Real continue to see their market share climb.
Although peer-to-peer transfers remain the primary use case for stablecoins, their share in everyday commercial payments is steadily increasing.
The data from each quarter continues to corroborate that stablecoins are gradually evolving into a universal public payment infrastructure. While inherently possessing global attributes, their practical applications are becoming increasingly localized.
The industry is still in its early stages of development, but the final form and development pattern of stablecoins are becoming increasingly clear.
