Stablecoins surpass Visa and Mastercard in online transaction volume
Major platforms like PayPal and Stripe are adopting stablecoins to offer faster, cheaper, and more efficient blockchain-based transactions.
According to Noam Hurwitz from Alchemy, stablecoins are now the leading medium for internet transactions, having overtaken Visa and Mastercard in on-chain volume. He described their adoption as ‘explosive’, highlighting their growing role as the ‘default settlement layer’ for digital payments.
Major fintech companies like PayPal, Stripe, and Robinhood are now integrating stablecoins to facilitate quicker, cheaper transactions using blockchain rails. Alchemy powers these operations, enabling stablecoin flows for prominent platforms.
Stablecoins are now widely used in global payments and decentralised prediction markets. They have also become significant holders of US Treasury debt, with Tether reportedly earning $13 billion in profits last year.
However, not everyone is convinced. The Bank for International Settlements has raised doubts about stablecoins serving as real money, arguing that they fail key economic tests and behave more like financial assets than currency.
Even so, the broader trend suggests stablecoins reshape how money moves online.
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