Key Points
- Real-world payments using stablecoins are surging.
- Over $10 billion in stablecoins was moved in August, more than double the volume from last year.
- The growth has accelerated since the U.S. passed the “Genius Act” to regulate stablecoins.
- Even traditional banking services like Zelle are now planning to use stablecoins.
The use of stablecoins for real-world payments is exploding. A new report shows that over $10 billion was moved through these dollar-pegged digital tokens in August alone, a massive jump that comes just after the U.S. passed its first-ever law to regulate the sector.
The “Genius Act,” signed into law by President Trump in July, has provided a much-needed dose of regulatory clarity for the crypto world. It sets federal rules for stablecoin issuers and requires them to back their tokens with safe, liquid assets. This has clearly boosted confidence in the technology.
According to a report from blockchain data provider Artemis, the volume of stablecoin payments has more than doubled in the last year. The biggest driver of this growth is business-to-business transfers, which now make up nearly two-thirds of the total. Companies are increasingly using stablecoins to bypass the slow and cumbersome traditional banking system for international payments.
While the total volume of stablecoin payments remains a tiny fraction of what flows through traditional systems, the growth rate is impressive. “If you look at stablecoin supply on a certain trend, and then right after Genius passed, the trend does inflect even more,” said a data scientist at Artemis.
Even the banks are taking notice. Zelle, the bank-owned payment service, has announced plans to expand its services internationally by using stablecoins. It’s a clear sign that what was once a niche corner of the crypto world is rapidly moving into the financial mainstream.
