How Stablecoins Reached $33 Trillion and Reshaped Global Payments
- Stablecoin volumes jumped to $33 trillion in 2025, showing real-world financial usage.
- USDC and USDT dominated flows and acted as parallel digital dollar systems.
- Policy clarity accelerated adoption among banks, firms, and payment networks.
Stablecoin trading volume reached a record $33 trillion in 2025, indicating a structural shift in global finance rather than a short-term crypto market rally. Data from Artemis Analytics, reported by Bloomberg, showed transactions rose 72% year over year. Activity centered on USDC and USDT, which together accounted for flows. Their growth signaled rising use in payments, settlement, and cross-border capital movement. This shift marked a clear break from stablecoins’ earlier role as tools mainly used by crypto traders.
Policy Signals Drive Institutional Expansion
Stablecoins track the value of mainstream assets, most often the US dollar, and aim to provide price stability. In 2025, the US policy stance shifted. President Donald Trump’s administration backed stablecoins through dedicated legislation. Lawmakers passed the Genius Act in July, giving the sector clearer rules.
As a result, institutional interest grew. Major corporations such as Standard Chartered, Walmart, and Amazon began exploring stablecoin launches.
Simultaneously, a company linked to Trump, World Liberty Financial, moved into the industry. In March, the company introduced a new stablecoin, USD1, which was considered an indicator of the alignment between political support and private capital in promoting the use of stablecoins in financial transactions and trade.
The Decline in Trading Volumes Indicates Use in the Real World
Even with an increase in total stablecoin volumes in 2025, the activity on decentralized crypto platforms represented a smaller portion of the overall volume and was, thus, declining. This development was understood as a sign that the wider public was using cryptocurrencies beyond the trading platforms. According to Anthony Yim, a co-founder of Artemis, the change pointed towards the acceptance of digital US dollars, especially during periods of global political instability.
USDC and USDT dominated this expansion. USD Coin recorded about $18.3 trillion in transaction volume during the year. Tether followed with roughly $13.3 trillion. Together, they rivaled annual transaction flows of major traditional payment systems.
Their appeal came from efficiency and availability. Stablecoins allowed continuous settlement and fast transfers across borders. As a result, corporations used them for treasury operations, while financial platforms integrated them for on-chain settlement.
Related: Circle and Bybit Advance Global Stablecoin Adoption With USDC
Regulation and Global Reach Remain in Focus
As stablecoin use and regulatory scrutiny increased. U.S. community banks expressed concerns about programs that were based on yield-stablecoins. The American Bankers Association’s Community Bankers Council considered it necessary to urge the senators to impose tighter regulation on the interest payments connected to stablecoins.
Analysts discovered growth in emerging markets, where stablecoins are frequently favored as solutions that provide the lowest and fastest ways to transfer money compared to the correspondent banking system. The high cost of cross-border transactions made international trade harder for small and medium-sized enterprises, and thus, they were the ones who benefited the most from these systems.
One instance was the collaboration between the ADI Foundation and M-Pesa, which aimed at onboarding 60 million mobile users to the blockchain. The project was one of the steps taken toward the goal of one billion digital economy participants by 2030. According to Bloomberg, the macroeconomic conditions and regulations will determine the growth of the next phase.
