How Stablecoins Are Transforming Blockchain

• Stablecoins are blockchain’s most adopted use case, powering trillions in payments, savings, and real-world asset transactions.
• Their utility is strongest in emerging markets, where they offer stability and accessibility in place of volatile local currencies.
• Regulatory frameworks like MiCA and the STABLE Act are starting to define global standards for reserve backing, transparency, and oversight.
• As programmable money, stablecoins are driving innovation in automated finance — from DAO payrolls to smart contract-powered payment flows.

The Rise of Stablecoins on Blockchain

Stablecoins are digital tokens pegged to fiat currencies, typically the US dollar, and are used to stabilise value in the highly volatile crypto market. First used as a hedge for traders, they’ve evolved into critical infrastructure across DeFi, payments, and tokenised real-world assets (RWAs).

Tether (USDT) and USDC (USDC) lead the market, with their combined circulation exceeding $306 billion AUD (around $200 billion USD). What’s particularly telling is their presence across all major blockchains — Ethereum, Tron, Solana, and more — showing their unmatched demand across diverse ecosystems.

The aggregate of the top 5 stablecoins demonstrates a continual increase in quantity

Stablecoins as the Leading Real-World Blockchain Use Case

Compared to NFTs, gaming, and even DeFi, stablecoins have seen broader, more consistent real-world usage. They dominate transaction volumes across Ethereum, Tron, and other major blockchains — especially in regions with volatile fiat currencies. In countries like Argentina, Turkey, and Nigeria, stablecoins are often favoured over local currencies for their stability and accessibility.

Their importance in tokenised RWAs can’t be understated either. Most RWA activity onchain is currently represented by stablecoins. They effectively act as the "cash layer" of blockchain — enabling seamless, global transactions, savings, and yield generation.

In 2024 alone, over $23.4 trillion AUD (approx. $15.6 trillion USD) in stablecoin volume was processed across blockchains — a figure that surpassed Visa’s global payment volume for the year. This activity occurred across an average of 110 million monthly transactions, which is less than 1% of Visa or Mastercard’s total transactions. This contrast highlights that stablecoins are predominantly used for higher-value payments rather than small, everyday purchases.

Stablecoins overtook Mastercard and Visa in 2024 for total amount of transaction value

Notably, Tron accounted for nearly half of all stablecoin volume, led by USDT. With low fees and fast transactions, Tron has become the preferred platform for stablecoin usage in Asia, where it’s widely used for remittances, merchant payments, and peer-to-peer transfers. This strong regional uptake further cements stablecoins as a global use case, not just a speculative tool for crypto traders.

Regulatory Landscape and Risks

While stablecoins provide real-world utility, they also pose unique challenges. Centralised issuers like Tether and Circle hold large reserves off-chain, meaning users must trust that those reserves exist and are accessible.

Regulators worldwide are grappling with how to classify and oversee stablecoins. There’s also growing tension between decentralised models like DAI and centralised custodial models like USDC. As central banks explore CBDCs, competition could intensify.

In response, regions are beginning to formalise their regulatory stance. In the European Union, the MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) framework introduces clear guidelines for stablecoin issuance, requiring full reserve backing, transparency, and issuer authorisation. Meanwhile, in the United

States, the STABLE Act (Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy Act of 2025) seeks to bring similar accountability, mandating issuers maintain reserves in U.S. banks and prohibiting algorithmic stablecoins for a transitional period.

“It’s the Golden Age of digital assets in America. With the STABLE Act, we will secure the future of financial payments and continued dominance of the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency.”

— Congressman Bryan Steil, Chairman, Subcommittee on Digital Assets

The balancing act lies in encouraging innovation without sacrificing user protection. Overregulation could push stablecoin activity offshore or into less transparent ecosystems, while underregulation could increase the risk of collapse or abuse.

The Future of Programmable Payments

Stablecoins aren’t just a digital version of fiat — they’re also programmable. This means they can be embedded into smart contracts to automate payments, enforce conditions, or streamline financial operations in ways that traditional money can’t.

Use cases are already emerging. DAOs use stablecoins to automate payroll, NFT creators use smart contracts to distribute royalties automatically, and lending platforms disburse and recall funds without a human in the loop. Stablecoins at the centre open the door for programmable subscriptions, performance-based payouts, or even escrow and insurance products that respond automatically to external events.

This concept — often called ‘programmable money’ — is what differentiates stablecoins from existing digital payment rails. While Visa or PayPal can move money, they can’t embed logic into the payment itself. With stablecoins, a transfer can be made only if a condition is met, or scheduled to occur in stages, or split across multiple recipients onchain.

As decentralised apps and financial tooling mature, programmable stablecoins are expected to power a new generation of autonomous, borderless, and trustless payment systems.

What This Means for the Future of Blockchain

Stablecoins may well be blockchain’s most important bridge to the traditional financial world. They’re used not just by crypto natives, but increasingly by institutions experimenting with digital dollars and tokenised treasuries.

If blockchain’s future includes everything from tokenised real estate to decentralised insurance, stablecoins will be the fuel behind the scenes. Yet, their long-term success hinges on finding a balance between compliance, decentralisation, and usability.

If adoption trends continue, stablecoins can play a critical role in cross-border payments, payroll services, and even retail transactions.