PANews reported on December 18th that Delphi Digital released its 2026 Infrastructure Outlook report, which points out that stablecoins have become the most important infrastructure focus in the crypto space. This year, the total supply of stablecoins grew by 33%, exceeding $304 billion; adjusted monthly transaction volume has now surpassed Visa and PayPal; and stablecoins hold $133 billion in US Treasury bonds, becoming the 19th largest holder of US Treasury securities.

The report points out that, ironically, crypto companies are now competing around traditional payment channels. While stablecoin top-up cards circulating through the Visa network are an important step, they haven't yet created a completely new paradigm. Many competitors will eventually be eliminated if they cannot provide solutions for self-control over daily spending and storage. Traditional giants have already recognized this trend. Stripe integrated its USD stablecoin USDB after acquiring Bridge; PayPal launched PYUSD; and Klarna recently announced KlarnaUSD. As fintech companies issue stablecoins, the market battle has already begun. The real winners will be those who can fundamentally revolutionize the underlying payment architecture, not just optimize the interface on top of it.