The Battle for Stablecoin Settlement Rights: How Solana Is Reshaping Ethereum's Dominance at the Payment Layer

In February 2026, a noteworthy shift occurred in the blockchain settlement market. According to on-chain data platform Artemis, the Solana network processed approximately $650 billion in stablecoin transfers that month, surpassing Ethereum and TRON for the first time in a single month’s settlement volume, ranking first globally in stablecoin transfer volume. This change sparked widespread discussion among industry analysts—TRON has long dominated the stablecoin transfer market (especially USDT), and Ethereum has also played a key settlement platform role for years, while Solana achieved a significant milestone by overtaking them within a single month.

Looking at a broader scope, data from Blockworks Research shows that Solana’s stablecoin transfer volume in Q1 2026 reached $2.1 trillion, roughly 60% growth compared to the previous quarter and the same period last year. During the same period, Solana’s non-voting transaction count surged to 1.01 billion, setting a new record. In contrast, Ethereum’s non-voting transactions in the same period were about 200 million. This gap reflects deep structural differences in the design focus and actual use cases of the two chains.

These figures reveal not just short-term fluctuations but a structural adjustment in the stablecoin settlement network landscape.

Two Main Tracks: The Development Paths of Solana and Ethereum in Stablecoins

Timeline: From Token Issuance to Actual Settlement

To understand Solana’s rise in stablecoin settlement, it’s necessary to trace back the development trajectories of both chains.

Ethereum is the pioneer of the stablecoin economy. In 2017, USDT launched on Ethereum, initiating an ecosystem built around smart contract-based stablecoins. USDC followed in 2018, and Ethereum, leveraging its first-mover advantage and mature DeFi infrastructure, has maintained a long-standing core position in stablecoin settlement. As of May 27, 2026, Ethereum (ETH) traded at $2,076.27, with a market share of 7.39%.

In contrast, Solana entered the stablecoin settlement race later. Its mainnet launched in 2020, with a genuine stablecoin ecosystem development beginning after 2022. The turning point came between 2023 and 2024, when Visa included Solana in its stablecoin settlement pilot, and PayPal issued PYUSD on Solana, beginning to form institutional-scale adoption. From 2025 to early 2026, Stripe acquired Bridge, further strengthening Solana’s role as a settlement layer.

Transaction volume structure and supply pattern differences

Simply comparing total transaction volume may overlook a key dimension: the fundamental differences in transaction types supported by Solana and Ethereum.

In Q1 2026, Solana processed about 1.01 billion non-voting transactions, while Ethereum recorded only about 200 million in the same period. The disparity is huge, but mainly stems from different design focuses. Ethereum’s architecture emphasizes high-value settlement, with higher economic value density per transaction; Solana’s high throughput design supports high-frequency, low-value transactions, giving it natural advantages in micro-payments and real-time settlement.

Regarding stablecoin supply patterns, the differences are also clear. As of May 2026, stablecoins on Ethereum totaled about $179.6 billion, TRON about $21k, and Solana about $16 billion. Ethereum and TRON together account for the vast majority of total stablecoin supply, with Solana holding about 5%, ranking third. Grayscale’s research confirms that Solana ranks fourth in total stablecoin supply.

The Reality Behind Payment Use Cases: From Transfer Volume to Settlement Volume

The Key Distinction Between Raw Transfer Volume and Adjusted Payment Volume

A core analytical dimension for stablecoin data is the distinction between raw transfer volume and actual payment volume.

Artemis’s January 2026 report estimates that the adjusted annual stablecoin payment volume is about $400 billion, whereas the widely cited raw transfer volume often ranges from $10 trillion to $30 trillion. This huge gap arises because a single payment can trigger multiple on-chain routes and repeated counts—e.g., a final payment may involve multiple smart contract interactions, chain transfers, and high-frequency trading activities, all reflected in raw transfer data but not directly corresponding to independent economic settlements.

Therefore, when seeing “stablecoin transfer volume surpassing a trillion dollars,” it’s important to understand that this more accurately reflects on-chain fund activity rather than the true value of goods or services exchanged.

B2B scenarios dominate, with rapid growth in card payments

Even with the strictest adjustments, the stablecoin payment market remains sizable. Artemis’s report further breaks down the $400 billion annual payment volume: B2B payments about $230 billion (60%), cross-border remittances about $90 billion, capital market settlements around $8 billion, and card payments about $4.5 billion. Although card payments are the smallest in absolute size, their annual growth rate reaches 800%, making them the fastest-growing segment.

Institutional Adoption Panorama: PayPal, Visa, Stripe’s Collective Choice

Adoption Overview: From Pilot to Mainstream

By Q1 2026, multiple global financial institutions—including Visa, Stripe, and PayPal—are conducting settlement operations on Solana. This broad participation indicates Solana is no longer just a transaction network for crypto-native users but has evolved into an enterprise-grade payment infrastructure.

In terms of market cap, as of May 27, 2026, SOL ranks 7th, trading at $83.91, with a market cap of $89.48B. The total stablecoin supply on Solana exceeds $15.4 billion, with USDC accounting for about 75%, and PYUSD being one of the fastest-growing stablecoins on-chain.

Visa: USDC Settlement from Pilot to Full Service

Visa’s collaboration with Solana has evolved from pilot to full service. In September 2023, Visa launched a pilot for USDC settlement on Solana. By December 2025, Visa officially announced enabling U.S. financial institutions to use USDC on Solana for backend payments, with initial participants including Cross River Bank and Lead Bank. This full-service rollout builds on Visa’s global pilot program, which by late November 2025 had an annualized scale of $3.5 billion. Visa plans to expand this service to more financial institutions in 2026.

Visa’s choice of Solana hinges on its technical features: approximately 400 milliseconds transaction confirmation, less than $0.001 per transaction fee, and the higher fault tolerance and throughput potential brought by the Firedancer upgrade.

Stripe: Strategic Acquisition of Bridge

In 2025, Stripe acquired stablecoin infrastructure platform Bridge for $1.1 billion, a move seen as key to its on-chain settlement strategy. Bridge’s technology has been integrated into Stripe’s financial services system. Prior to this, Stripe had rebooted its crypto payment gateway, allowing U.S. merchants to accept USDC payments via Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon networks. These initiatives indicate that traditional payment giants are pushing blockchain settlement from experimental pilots into mainstream business.

PayPal: PYUSD on Solana and Market Fluctuations

PayPal’s stablecoin PYUSD launched in 2023, quickly establishing an ecosystem on Solana. As of May 2026, PYUSD’s market cap on Solana is about $267 million, while on Ethereum, circulation exceeds $350 million. PYUSD’s circulation on Solana has declined from a peak over $600 million in August 2025, but its cross-chain market cap has grown 375% year-over-year, ranking as the ninth-largest stablecoin.

Multiple lending platforms within the Solana ecosystem (such as Kamino, Drift, and MarginFi) have lowered PYUSD lending yields, which was a key factor in the recent decline of PYUSD’s circulating supply. However, Kamino has recently added incentives to include PYUSD in its “altcoin market,” aiming to revive its usage on Solana.

Structural Disputes in Stablecoin Settlement

Methodological Disagreements on Data Scope

The news of Solana’s stablecoin settlement volume surpassing Ethereum’s has sparked widespread discussion, along with methodological debates. The core disagreement centers on whether raw transfer volume is an appropriate measure of “settlement” activity.

As previously noted, a final payment transfer may undergo multiple routing and smart contract interactions on-chain. Artemis and McKinsey’s analyses show that about 99.9% of the amount in raw transfer volume is technical liquidity rather than actual economic payment. Some argue that Solana’s advantage lies more in high-frequency fund flow efficiency rather than in value-dense payment settlement.

From a technical architecture perspective, Solana’s sub-second confirmation and transaction fees below $0.01 are naturally suited for high-frequency fund flows. Ethereum’s higher per-transaction costs make it more appropriate for single, high-value settlements. This difference suggests that framing stablecoin settlement as a “zero-sum competition” may be inaccurate.

User Perception and Control Discussion

Another important discussion point concerns user perception and control over stablecoins settled on Solana. Most settlement activity occurs at the infrastructure level managed by financial institutions, not directly between non-custodial wallets controlled by users. When users pay via Visa or PayPal using stablecoins, the on-chain settlement is typically handled in the background, with the user perceiving a traditional card payment experience. This model improves payment efficiency but does not necessarily enhance user control over their assets.

“Yield Leakage” and the Economics of the Solana Ecosystem

Within the Solana community, discussions about the economic effects of stablecoins have also emerged. Helius Labs CEO Mert Mumtaz recently proposed the concept of “yield leakage.” His core argument is that the main stablecoins on Solana are controlled by external issuers, and the reserve yields (e.g., interest from US Treasury bonds) flow to issuers and their shareholders, not the Solana ecosystem itself. He estimates that about $15 billion in stablecoin reserves on Solana generate significant interest income for Circle, whose parent company Coinbase’s subsidiary Base is a major competitor in Solana’s public chain space.

These discussions touch on the future direction of Solana’s stablecoin economy: whether success in settlement volume will translate into a beneficial economic cycle for the ecosystem’s long-term growth. The answer will become clearer over the next one to two years.

Conclusion

Solana surpassing Ethereum in stablecoin settlement volume is a milestone event with industry significance. It reflects not just short-term network leadership but a structural shift in stablecoin payment infrastructure from “who did it first” to “who is better suited.”

From $650 billion in monthly transfer volume to the collective adoption by payment giants like Visa, Stripe, and PayPal, Solana has established itself as a key player in stablecoin settlement. With a total global stablecoin market cap of about $320 billion, market forecasts suggest that by 2026, roughly 60% of stablecoin transaction volume will be B2B. The competition in stablecoin settlement is not a short-term sprint. Whether Solana’s advantage can translate into a lasting structural position depends on its ability to balance efficiency and decentralization, as well as its success in building a sustainable economic ecosystem.