a16z: Stablecoins Evolving from Trading Tools to Core Financial Infrastructure Amid Accelerating Payment and Localization Trends

On April 25, a research report released by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) indicated that stablecoins are gradually evolving from early trading mediums and store-of-value tools into a global financial infrastructure, with significant changes in their use cases and market structure. Data shows that regulatory clarity has become a key catalyst. Following the implementation of the U.S. ‘GENIUS Act’, stablecoin trading volume has significantly accelerated, with adjusted trading volumes reaching approximately $4.5 trillion in Q1 2026. The European ‘MiCA’ framework is also fostering stable demand in the non-U.S. dollar stablecoin market. On the application front, commercial payments using stablecoins are growing rapidly, with consumer-to-business (C2B) transactions expected to increase by 128% year-on-year by 2025. The monthly collateral scale of stablecoin card infrastructure (such as EtherFi Cash) has risen to over $300 million, indicating that real consumption scenarios are taking shape. Additionally, the velocity of stablecoin circulation has significantly improved, with turnover rates rising from 2.6 times to approximately 6 times since 2024, suggesting a shift from ‘holding assets’ to ‘high-frequency payment mediums’. In terms of geographic distribution, Asia accounts for nearly two-thirds of the trading volume, North America for about a quarter, and Europe for approximately 13%. Notably, stablecoins are transitioning from ‘cross-border payment tools’ to ‘local payment tools’, with the proportion of domestic transactions within a single country increasing from around 50% in 2024 to nearly 75% in 2026. Furthermore, non-U.S. dollar stablecoins are also emerging in new markets, such as the Brazilian real stablecoin BRLA, which has a monthly trading volume approaching $400 million. The report concludes that the stablecoin system is exhibiting structural characteristics of a ‘global underlying network + localized applications’ and is gradually becoming a universal payment infrastructure.