Stablecoin Adoption Hits 300M Users as Dollar-Banking Apps Gain Ground

The adoption of stablecoins has reached unprecedented levels, with over 300 million unique users interacting with dollar-pegged tokens in the past year. According to Patrick Kim of Artemis, this number is 'absurdly high' and represents a significant shift in the way people use digital currency. The growth in stablecoin adoption is running counter to the retail crypto trading market, which has cooled off.

Despite the crypto winter, institutions are increasingly adopting stablecoins for real-world use cases, such as payment and settlement. Stripe's $1.1 billion acquisition of Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure firm, highlights the growing interest in this space. Mastercard's purchase of BVNK, a payments company, also demonstrates the expanding role of stablecoins in traditional finance.

Rizon, a dollar-banking app, has claimed 122 countries in just 65 weeks and boasts 280,000 users and $120 million in annual payment volume. The firm uses USDC stablecoins and issues cards through licensed entities. Ignas Survila, Rizon's founder, believes that regulation is what moved stablecoins from the fringe to mainstream adoption.

However, not everyone is convinced of the benefits of stablecoin-first apps. Neo, a former Alipay executive, argues that these apps are simply taking the easy way out by using USDC stablecoins and issuing cards. This raises questions about whether such apps are genuinely better banks or just cheaper ways to distribute dollars.