BVNK Founder: The Three Stages of Stablecoin Development

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Author: Jesse Hemson Struthers, CEO and Founder of BVNK

Translation: Jiahua, ChainCatcher

Regarding stablecoins, there is a fairly common saying: they are a tool for individuals in emerging markets to hedge against currency fluctuations. This is indeed true and important, but it is not the full picture.

Today at BVNK, we handle an annualized stablecoin trading volume of $36 billion. We are just one part of this vast ecosystem, but from the trading volume data, we have observed some interesting patterns that point to a three-stage evolution process.

It all began in 2022, when brokerage platforms and their retail users started using stablecoins to top up accounts. From there to today, enterprise-level platforms are embedding stablecoin wallets into their products.

The three-stage evolution within the $36 billion data

Stage One (2022-2024): Breaking through brokerages and validating models

BVNK’s earliest trading volume came from brokerage platforms, with the core use case being account top-ups. Retail users deposit stablecoins to fund their accounts, enabling them to trade stocks, cryptocurrencies, and other assets anytime and anywhere, with automatic conversion to fiat currency for settlement with the platform.

This use case is sometimes underestimated, seen as not a “real-world” application. But think about what it signifies: cross-border, 24/7, instant settlement. A Brazilian user can top up their brokerage account at 2 a.m. on a Sunday. This is the future of capital flow, just happening in an industry that has not yet received enough recognition.

In 2023-2024, this use case accounts for about 50% of our total trading volume. Public information from the industry shows that companies like Bridge and Zerohash are observing the same trend with clients such as Bitso and tastytrade.

Stage Two (2024-2025): Institutional relay and ecosystem expansion

This is the truly interesting phase. Major payment service providers are beginning to offer stablecoin payment channels for their clients: dLocal, Worldpay, Thunes, Visa, and others. Application scenarios are continuously expanding: merchant settlement, B2B accounts payable, treasury operations.

BVNK’s annualized trading volume divided by use case

By 2025, B2B payments will account for 44% of our total trading volume, becoming the largest category, surpassing account top-ups.

It’s worth noting that many stablecoin payment service providers that found product-market fit (PMF) on trading platforms have not successfully crossed into the B2B payments track.

During this period, we also saw the takeoff of several high-growth use cases.

The first is B2C payroll and gig economy payouts. Companies like Deel and Ontop are using BVNK’s infrastructure to pay employees, sellers, and creators worldwide in real time.

The second is the surging demand for embedded stablecoin wallets. Our trading volume grew from nearly zero to $3.4 billion within a year, a 263-fold increase.

Fintech companies and global platforms realize that stablecoins are not just for sending and receiving payments—they can be embedded directly into wallets as infrastructure. We have moved from simple “send/receive” to using stablecoins as foundational infrastructure.

For these enterprises, owning a wallet means controlling customer relationships and value flows.

Growth rate by stablecoin use case

Stage Three (2026 and beyond): Corporate bets and infrastructure overhaul

Last year, we onboarded more enterprise clients than all previous years combined, and the client pipeline for 2026 shows a clear shift in use cases.

Almost one in four new clients (23%) requests embedded digital dollar wallets, nearly catching up with B2B payments (32%). These wallets are the global payment infrastructure embedded within platforms, serving millions of end users.

Comparison of BVNK client numbers by use case in 2025 and 2026

Embedding stablecoin wallets into platforms is not just adding another payment method; it’s about building infrastructure. When a market platform embeds a wallet, or a tech giant integrates stablecoin spending capabilities into its platform, what you see is: companies betting on stablecoins as the foundation for future capital flow and value storage.

In 2026, we also see the growth of two other emerging use cases:

B2C stablecoin checkout has become an independent application scenario (7% of new clients), mainly in luxury goods, travel, and large tech companies adding stablecoin checkout options outside traditional payment methods.

B2C payroll and marketplace spending continue to grow (8% of new clients).

The inevitability behind this evolution

Brokerage platforms first proved the value of stablecoin payments: users are often crypto natives (no need for market education), requiring global coverage from day one, and compared to international wire transfers, stablecoins offer immediate advantages.

But the same advantages (speed, global reach, 24/7 availability) also apply to B2B payments, B2C spending, and embedded wallet experiences within enterprise platforms.

Another point is that providers like BVNK, which scaled early use cases of stablecoin payment infrastructure in 2022, have accumulated strong operational capabilities and compliance frameworks—exactly what today’s payment companies and enterprises need. This practical experience has laid the foundation for all subsequent developments.

The flywheel has just started turning

The overall market growth momentum is clear, but remember, we are still in the early stages.

By making payments faster, cheaper, and globally interconnected, stablecoins open the door to new markets, and how big these markets are today is hard to estimate.

Uber’s analogy is very instructive: its market is not just taxis, but the large demand for mobility that emerged after travel became more convenient and on-demand.

The same applies to stablecoins: their unique advantages not only optimize existing use cases but also create entirely new application scenarios.