Stablecoin Payment Volume Jumps 45% as Supply Stagnates

Stablecoin supply has been largely flat this year, but payment volume and transaction counts have risen sharply, underscoring growing use as a real-world payment method.

CoinDesk reported on October 18 that blockchain analytics firm Allium said stablecoin payment volume reached $482 billion from January through September, up 45% from a year earlier. The number of payment transactions exceeded 1 billion over the same period, surging 71% from a year earlier.

By contrast, total stablecoin circulation stood at about $305 billion at the end of September, up just 0.4% from the start of the year. That indicates existing stablecoins are being used more frequently for payments even without a significant increase in new issuance. Card payment volume linked to stablecoins rose tenfold from a year earlier to $3.9 billion, and 84% of the increase in card transactions came from small purchases of less than $50.

Global payment companies are also expanding stablecoin-based payment infrastructure. Mastercard unveiled a global money platform with BVNK, a stablecoin infrastructure company it acquired in August, integrating traditional fiat accounts, stablecoin balances, foreign exchange, card payments and bank transfers. Nuvei and Marqeta are among the initial adopters.

Stripe is working with blockchain financial services firm Plasma on a card service that would let users draw on balances in multiple currencies, including dollars, euros and Brazilian reals, as well as stablecoins. The system uses the balance that matches the payment currency to reduce unnecessary foreign-exchange conversions. Stripe plans to expand its card infrastructure from more than 30 countries to more than 100 countries by next year.

Visa is also expanding international remittance services using stablecoins. Payment infrastructure provider Inyo Global has commercialized a model that pre-funds Visa Direct, Visa's international money transfer service, with the dollar stablecoin USDC. That allows payment companies to provide cross-border remittance funds in near real time without being constrained by traditional bank operating hours.