Stablecoin market hits $312 billion as banks, card networks embrace onchain dollars
As regulation advances and institutions adopt blockchain settlement, stablecoins are expanding beyond crypto trading into payments infrastructure.
Updated Mar 10, 2026, 3:57 p.m. Published Mar 10, 2026, 2:48 p.m.
Stablecoins are evolving from a niche crypto trading tool into a potential layer of global financial infrastructure, according to Australian investment bank Macquarie.
While most U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin activity, mainly in Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC, still comes from crypto trading, accounting for about 90% of volume, the bank said adoption is expanding across payments, remittances, treasury operations and tokenized assets, increasingly linking traditional finance with decentralized finance.
“Stablecoin adoption is making strides in cross-border remittances, but adoption as form of payment still has room to grow, presenting an attractive total addressable market (TAM) opportunity,” analysts led by Paul Golding said in the Monday note.
Regulatory progress is helping drive the shift. The analysts pointed to developments such as the U.S. GENIUS Act, Europe’s MiCA framework and emerging Asia-Pacific regulations as factors pushing stablecoins from speculative uses toward institutional settlement tools.
Read more: Stablecoin market expands, bitcoin rallies as Iran war panic cools
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a fixed value, typically pegged to the U.S. dollar, and are widely used across digital asset markets for trading, payments and transfers.
Tether’s USDT is the largest stablecoin by market value and trading volume, serving as a key source of liquidity across crypto exchanges, while Circle’s USDC is the second largest and is widely used in institutional and decentralized finance applications. Together, the tokens underpin much of the crypto market’s activity and are increasingly being explored for payments, remittances and settlement.
Stablecoin growth has been rapid. Macquarie estimates the combined market capitalization of major coins at about $312 billion as of March 2026, up roughly 50% year over year and representing about 7%–8% of the total crypto market.
Transaction activity is rising even faster. Adjusted stablecoin transfer volume reached roughly $11 trillion in 2025, the bank said, suggesting onchain dollars are becoming a meaningful economic tool both within crypto markets and in some real-world payment corridors.
Payments networks and fintech firms are beginning to integrate the technology. The report noted that Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) now support USDC settlement, allowing card obligations to be discharged onchain.
Banks are experimenting with similar systems. Macquarie pointed to initiatives including JPMorgan’s JPMD tokenized deposit product, Citi’s Token Services and tokenized deposit pilots at HSBC as evidence that blockchain-based settlement is gaining traction among large financial institutions.
Read more: Standard Chartered says U.S. regional banks most at risk in $500 billion stablecoin shift
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
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