Stablecoin Infrastructure Quietly Takes Shape Amidst Rapid Growth
The growth of stablecoins has been staggering, with over $62 trillion in transfers recorded on public blockchains in 2025. However, a closer look at the data reveals that only about 7% of this activity reflects genuine economic use. The remaining 93% can be attributed to bots, protocol mechanics, trading flows, and other non-economic activity.
This discrepancy highlights the challenge facing stablecoins: despite their rapid growth, they still account for only 1% of global payments. According to OpenFX, this market share has remained unchanged since 2023 and 2024.
The problem is not with the blockchain settlement layer itself, which can already move value quickly. Rather, it lies in areas such as compliance, payment ramps, liquidity, reconciliation, and operational systems that businesses need before they can use stablecoins at scale.
A more telling indicator of lasting adoption is real payments, which grew by 60% between 2024 and 2025, according to BCG. This expansion is driven by traditional systems' inefficiencies in various corridors, making stablecoins an attractive solution for international settlements, trapped liquidity, and high costs.