Every day, billions of dollars move across blockchains through stablecoins. The market is dominated by USDT ($175B market cap) and USDC ($75B), but a growing ecosystem of new entrants is expanding the landscape. Stablecoins are no longer a crypto sideshow — they’re becoming one of the largest financial innovations since the rise of electronic payments. Their use cases are broad, but four stand out: Hedging in high-inflation economies Cross-border payments and remittances DeFi and programmable finance Trading and liquidity Of these, the cross-border and remittance use case has the biggest growth potential. USD-denominated stablecoins are quietly replacing SWIFT for small and mid-sized flows — allowing money to move across the world in seconds, not days. Stablecoins vs. SWIFT: reinventing cross-border money What’s being disrupted is not SWIFT in general, but SWIFT as the global rail for dollar transfers . For decades, the U.S. dollar has been the unit of account for global commerce , and SWIFT has been the messaging system coordinating those flows. Now, instead of SWIFT as the intermediary, USD stablecoins themselves serve as the transmission rail : programmable, verifiable and available 24/7. Stablecoins aren’t yet replacing SWIFT at scale — they still account for less than 1% of global money flows — but in remittances, B2B payments and e-commerce, USD stablecoins are already becoming the faster, cheaper complement to the dollar’s traditional wiring system. Speed, cost, adoption — here’s the comparison (2025): The problem: two states of money While USD stablecoins move instantly in the digital world, the real economy still runs on local fiat . That forces liquidity providers to bridge two different states of money: Digital (USD stablecoins) . Fiat (local currencies) . Today, this mismatch creates friction. Liquidity providers end up holding pesos, reals or naira overnight, unable to recycle capital until banks reopen. The fintech or end-user benefits from instant settlement — but the provider absorbs the cost of locked balances. In effect, stablecoin adoption is capped by the size of provider balance sheets . The solution: FX on-chain = one state FX-on-chain protocols collapse the two-state problem into a single state: digital. Instead of moving between stablecoins and fiat through banks, FX-on-chain enables direct swaps between USD stablecoins and local-currency stablecoins . This unlocks two key advantages: Instant conversion: USDC/USDT holders can sell directly into MXN-stables, BRL-stables, or COP-stables, which can then be redeemed for fiat instantly. Flow matching: Global remittance flows (selling USD to buy local) naturally meet corporate or institutional flows (selling local to buy USD). On-chain pools match these in real time, netting out exposures and recycling liquidity 24/7. By unifying flows digitally, liquidity providers are no longer stuck warehousing risk. Instead, capital circulates continuously on-chain — just as it does in global FX markets, but with instant settlement, lower costs and transparent liquidity . Looking ahead Stablecoins are no longer just a bridge between crypto and fiat — they are becoming the rails of global commerce . From households in Argentina hedging inflation, to exporters in Nigeria settling invoices, to institutions arbitraging spreads, stablecoins are embedding themselves everywhere. The future hinges on three fronts: FX on-chain – collapsing fiat and digital into one state to enable true multi-currency settlement. Regulation – defining guardrails without stifling innovation. Non-USD stables – the rise of euro, yen and local-currency stablecoins to further localize adoption. If the past decade was about bitcoin as “digital gold,” the next will be about stablecoins as “digital fiat” — currently only digital dollars and ultimately, digital fiat for everyone, everywhere.
