Stablecoins Stumble Without Banks: A Scalability Crisis

The growth of stablecoins has been hindered by their inability to scale without banks. According to recent data, genuine stablecoin payments reached a mere $390 billion annualized in late 2025, representing just 0.02% of the cross-border market's $208 trillion volume.

This limited adoption is due to the fact that enterprise flows still begin and end in fiat currency, with banks handling the entry point, compliance anchor, and local rails for every payment. Stablecoins settle only the middle leg, a process that takes place on-chain in seconds but relies heavily on banking infrastructure.

The companies scaling stablecoin payments are building deeper into the banking system than initially anticipated. Stripe's acquisition of Bridge, whose core product is orchestrating banks, is just one example of this trend. Citi is launching crypto custody services, and Standard Chartered is testing stablecoin settlement in Singapore.