a16z: Stablecoins are moving toward localization

Author: Robert Hackett, a16z crypto editor; Jeremy Zhang, a16z partner; Source: a16z crypto; Translation: Shaw, Golden Finance

Stablecoins have been seeking their core value narrative for years.

Initially, they were just a trading tool used to transfer US dollar funds between major exchanges. Subsequently, stablecoins evolved into a savings vehicle, with people choosing to hold rather than spend. Today, data points to a new development direction: Stablecoins are becoming a core financial infrastructure.

The following nine charts will illustrate the underlying logic driving this trend.

1. Regulation Implementation Boosts Market Growth

For most of stablecoin development, regulatory uncertainty has limited institutional capital entry. Later, the GeniuS Act was enacted, and the regulatory framework became clearer. This law was not the origin of this trend but greatly amplified the industry’s growth momentum.

In the U.S., the GeniuS Act established the first federal regulatory framework for stablecoin issuance. This policy shift is clearly reflected in the data: even before the law passed, stablecoin trading volume had been rising for several consecutive quarters after adjustments, and after the law’s implementation, growth accelerated further, reaching about $4.5 trillion in the first quarter of 2026.

The EU’s stablecoin regulatory framework — the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) — presents a more complex picture. After full enforcement at the end of 2024, many mainstream exchanges delisted Tether (USDT) to comply, directly driving a sharp increase in non-USD stablecoin trading volume, briefly surpassing $40 billion.

Subsequently, non-USD stablecoin trading volume declined and stabilized, with the overall base significantly higher than before MiCA’s implementation, maintaining a monthly scale of $15 billion to $25 billion. Regulatory policies have artificially created a long-term market for non-USD stablecoins that was almost nonexistent before.

2. The Scale of Commercial Stablecoin Applications Continues to Expand

From a long-term structural perspective, perhaps the most critical change is a qualitative shift in the actual use cases of stablecoins.

In terms of original transaction counts, C2C (person-to-person) transactions lead all other categories, reaching 789.5 million transactions in 2025. Meanwhile, C2B (person-to-business) stablecoin transactions are growing the fastest, with a 128% year-over-year increase, from 124.9 million in 2024 to 284.6 million in 2025, more than doubling in scale.

Data from stablecoin payment card infrastructure further confirms this trend.

Various stablecoin card projects supported by Rain (including Etherfi Cash, Kast, Wallbit, etc.) saw their monthly collateral deposits rise from nearly zero in November 2024 to over $300 million per month by early 2026. Although these funds are used as collateral for card spending rather than direct stablecoin consumption, the growth momentum is impressive: Stablecoin commercial payment scenarios are booming.

3. Stablecoin Circulation Speed Continues to Accelerate

The turnover frequency of each dollar of stablecoin holdings is constantly increasing.

Since early 2024, the circulation speed of stablecoins (the ratio of adjusted monthly transfer volume to circulating supply) has roughly doubled, rising from 2.6 times to 6 times. An increasing circulation speed indicates that the demand for stablecoin transactions is outpacing new issuance, significantly improving the utilization efficiency of existing funds.

This is a typical feature of mature payment networks: the underlying currency is widely used in actual transactions rather than passively held.

4. The Proportion of Payment-Related Transactions in Stablecoin Trading Volume Continues to Rise

Excluding trading speculation, fund transfers, internal exchange flows, and other traditional mainstream scenarios, last year’s actual payment-related transaction volume between entities was approximately $350 billion to $550 billion.

The enterprise-to-enterprise (B2B) segment dominates stablecoin payment volume (not surprising given the scale of business operations). However, other scenarios such as person-to-person (C2C) direct transfers and merchant payments are also expanding rapidly.

5. Stablecoin Payments Are Currently Highly Concentrated in Specific Regions

Geographically, stablecoin payment activity shows a clear regional imbalance.

Nearly two-thirds of transaction volume comes from Asia, mainly concentrated in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan.

North America accounts for about a quarter, Europe around 13%. Latin America and Africa combined hold a very small share, with transaction volumes under $1 billion.

6. Not Just Cross-Border Payments — Local Currencies, Global Settlement Networks

The rise of non-USD stablecoins is not unique to Europe; emerging markets are also showing significant momentum, driven by different reasons.

Brazil is a typical example. BRLA is a stablecoin backed by the Brazilian real reserve, with monthly transfer volume rising from nearly zero in early 2023 to about $400 million per month by early 2026. This stablecoin has integrated with Brazil’s instant payment system PIX, significantly promoting its adoption.

Although stablecoins are often viewed as cross-border tools, the share of cross-border transactions is actually continuing to decline, not increase.

Domestic transactions accounted for about half of the payment volume at the beginning of 2024, rising to nearly three-quarters by early 2026. What does this mean? The development focus of stablecoins is shifting: they are no longer limited to remittances and foreign exchange tools but are gradually becoming a local daily payment medium, supported by global underlying infrastructure.

Conclusion

Based on all data, a clear industry landscape has emerged, quite different from the common expectations: in the past, most believed that the core value of stablecoins would focus on cross-border transfers. But the reality is quite the opposite: stablecoins are accelerating their localization. Currently, USD remains the dominant anchor currency for most stablecoins, but non-USD local fiat-backed stablecoins, such as euro and Brazilian real, are rapidly gaining market share.

Moreover, although peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers still far surpass other payment types in volume, the frequency of everyday commercial transactions is continuously rising.

Quarterly data consistently confirms: Stablecoins are gradually evolving into a universal payment infrastructure. They are designed with a global underlying architecture, but their actual use cases are becoming increasingly local.

The industry is still in its early stages, but the outline of this new financial system is becoming increasingly clear.