Payment giants merge with crypto, stablecoins become the new infrastructure of the global economy

Global payments are undergoing a silent revolution. When traditional cross-border transfer giants like MoneyGram begin deep collaborations with stablecoins; when industry players seemingly worlds apart like Stripe and Tether simultaneously develop AI payment infrastructure, a clear signal emerges — stablecoins are no longer just experiments in the crypto space but are becoming a bridge connecting traditional finance and the digital economy.

By 2025, the total global market cap of stablecoins has surpassed $240 billion, more than a tenfold increase from $20 billion in 2020. This is not just a numerical increase but signifies the formation of a new payment infrastructure worldwide. Supporting this growth are multi-dimensional pushes from payment giants, tech platforms, and traditional financial institutions. Stablecoins are evolving from “edge innovation” to “mainstream infrastructure.”

Market Breakthrough: A New Stage of Stablecoin Expansion

The stablecoin market has entered a breakout phase. USDT remains dominant with a market cap over $150 billion, accounting for nearly 63%; USDC is second with about $60.2 billion, nearly 25%. Emerging stablecoins are also growing rapidly, with Dai, USDD, OpenDollar USDO, and others recording significant increases at different times.

From a network distribution perspective, Ethereum remains the primary platform for stablecoins, with a market cap of $122.5 billion. However, stablecoin applications on blockchains like Solana, Avalanche, and others are accelerating their penetration, with new chains like Hyperliquid, Sei, and Unichain experiencing over 20% growth in stablecoin holdings recently. This reflects a shift from a single-network focus centered on Ethereum to a multi-chain ecosystem.

Meta and Stripe’s Differentiated Paths: Who Is Reshaping the Payment Ecosystem

Meta is quietly returning to the payments market. Compared to the ambitious “creating a global reserve currency” goal of the Diem project, Meta’s current aim is more pragmatic — solving cross-border settlement issues for creators on Instagram and WhatsApp.

The logic is clear: if within Meta’s platforms, creator earnings, ad spend, and user tips can circulate in stablecoins, an “internal cycle” can form. Users won’t need to frequently convert to fiat, greatly increasing fund stickiness and boosting platform commercial value. In this model, stablecoins are no longer just settlement tools but carriers of platform economic value.

In contrast, the combination of Stripe and Tether represents another path — designing a native payment system for AI agents.

Large-scale participation of AI agents in economic activities is inevitable. But the question is: how do AI agents “operate” within the existing financial system? What kind of payment infrastructure do they need? Traditional banking systems are clearly incompatible — designed for humans, slow, costly, and trust-dependent. Stablecoins on blockchain naturally meet AI’s needs: high-frequency trading, real-time clearing, programmability, and cross-region capabilities.

Stripe’s approach is incremental — within existing compliance frameworks, integrating USDC stablecoin, and incorporating AI risk control models, enabling enterprises to activate on-chain payments within current systems. Tether is more aggressive, launching the QVAC platform to build a fully decentralized, AI agent-driven P2P network.

Though their starting points differ, both aim to build the native payment infrastructure needed for the AI era.

Industry Consensus: Why Traditional Finance Is Embracing Stablecoins

At Consensus 2025, a rare industry consensus is forming. MoneyGram CEO Anthony Soohoo pointed out that stablecoins are becoming a key component of the global payment system, especially in high-inflation countries and emerging markets, where stablecoins have gone beyond being mere payment tools to become important means of value storage. PayPal’s digital currency executive Jose Fernandez da Ponte explicitly stated that banks must participate in crypto to unlock the full potential of stablecoins.

This is not wishful thinking in the crypto industry but a forced choice by traditional financial institutions. According to executives from BitGo, many US and international banks are proactively consulting on stablecoin solutions — not for innovation, but to prevent deposit outflows to native crypto competitors. Banks are on the defensive.

Research from institutions like Deutsche Bank and Citigroup also points in the same direction: the stablecoin market could reach $1.6 trillion to $3.7 trillion by 2030. Due to its scale and US dollar reserves, Tether has become one of the largest holders of US Treasuries globally. Stablecoins are increasingly becoming a new tool for US economic influence abroad.

Anthony Soohoo and MoneyGram’s New Opportunities

Under Anthony Soohoo’s leadership, MoneyGram is redefining cross-border payments. With stablecoins, MoneyGram’s nearly 500,000 global cash access points can form a new value transfer network. Users no longer need to pay high fees for bank wire transfers (which can cost up to $45), but can instead perform 24/7, instant, borderless transfers via stablecoins.

This is especially significant for emerging markets. In countries like Argentina and Venezuela with high inflation, US dollar stablecoins have become essential for daily life. Soohoo’s perspective signals a new positioning for traditional remittance providers: upgrading from “currency exchange” to “digital dollar infrastructure provider.”

Regulatory Entry: From Offshore Innovation to U.S. Federal Framework

In the first half of 2025, a key event occurred — Anchorage Digital acquired Mountain Protocol.

Anchorage is the only US-based digital asset bank holding an OCC federal license, while Mountain Protocol holds a Bermuda stablecoin license. This acquisition signifies that the stablecoin industry is transitioning from “offshore experimentation” to “compliant coexistence.”

Offshore regions like Bermuda have long been testing grounds for financial innovation. Anchorage’s acquisition demonstrates that this model can integrate with US federal regulation — products incubated offshore can be brought into the US financial system in a compliant manner. The OCC’s new regulations explicitly permit regulated banks to buy, sell, and custody digital assets, meaning stablecoins are no longer in a gray area but can be assets held by mainstream financial institutions.

Payment Card Adoption: Stablecoins Moving from On-Chain to Offline

MoonPay’s partnership with Mastercard marks another milestone. Now, 150 million merchants worldwide can accept stablecoin payments, with users able to pay directly using virtual Mastercard linked to their stablecoin balances, without converting to fiat first.

Similar cases include RedotPay’s launch of Visa crypto payment cards in South Korea and Coinbase’s stablecoin payment solutions across multiple blockchains. The common feature is that stablecoins are integrating with traditional payment networks rather than replacing them. This “wrapper” approach accelerates stablecoin adoption.

Regulatory Frameworks at a Critical Point

US Congress’s GENUIS Act and STABLE Act are advancing stablecoin regulation. While debates remain, the direction is clear — stablecoins will gain explicit legal recognition.

This has profound market implications. Once regulatory clarity is achieved, many new stablecoin issuers may emerge. Citigroup predicts the market could enter an “integration phase” — smaller stablecoins gradually phased out, industry landscape stabilizing. Tether and Circle are expected to maintain dominance.

More importantly, regulatory clarity will eliminate legal concerns for institutional investors. Traditional financial institutions can confidently accept, hold, and even issue stablecoins.

Capital Consolidation: The Industry’s Big Game Begins

Ripple’s $4-5 billion acquisition of Circle, Coinbase’s $2.9 billion purchase of Deribit — these mergers point to the same trend: both traditional players and crypto-native firms are vying for control of the stablecoin track.

Stablecoins have upgraded from “innovation tool” to “strategic asset.” They connect traditional finance with crypto, underpin AI economy payments, and serve as a new means for the US to maintain dollar dominance globally.

Product Innovation: New Uses for Stablecoins Emerge Continuously

Tether’s launch of QVAC is a milestone — a localized AI development platform supporting AI models and applications on edge devices, integrated with USDT payment capabilities. The logic is clear: data privacy, sovereignty, and payment ability are becoming a unified whole.

VanEck’s tokenized US Treasury fund VBILL supports 24/7 deposits and real-time settlement using USDC stablecoin. This indicates traditional assets are migrating onto the blockchain, with stablecoins serving as the value carriers.

Squad’s enterprise stablecoin account Altitude allows any company to open a global USD account in just a few clicks. Native stablecoin financial infrastructure is directly targeting enterprise users.

Conclusion: Stablecoins Are Becoming the Native Currency Layer of the Next Economy

From Meta’s creator economy loop, Stripe and Tether’s AI payment infrastructure, to MoneyGram and Anthony Soohoo’s full embrace of traditional payment giants, the story of stablecoins has gone beyond “payment tools.”

They are becoming a bridge connecting people, systems, and participants in the next-generation digital ecosystem. Whether human users or AI agents, creators or enterprises, traditional banks or crypto protocols — all are finding a common “language” — stablecoins.

This is not just a crypto revolution but a global overhaul of payment infrastructure. With a market cap of $240 billion, regulatory frameworks taking shape, traditional finance entering the space, and industry consensus forming, all will become clearer by 2026.