WTO: Fragmented Rules Hinder Wider Stablecoin Adoption in International Trade

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has identified a key barrier to wider stablecoin adoption in international trade: fragmented rules across different countries. According to WTO Director of the Trade in Services and Investment Division Juan Marchetti, regulation is the main problem today, not the technology itself.

Marchetti noted that as of October 2025, only 11 out of 28 jurisdictions surveyed by the Financial Stability Board had full stablecoin regulatory frameworks in place, which accounts for about 39% of the total. Stablecoins currently account for around 3% of international payments, but they have the potential to address several problems at once.

The WTO believes that stablecoins could reduce transfer costs, speed up transactions, expand access to financial services, improve transparency, and ease foreign exchange constraints. Marchetti emphasized that further adoption will depend primarily on greater regulatory convergence between countries, payment system interoperability, and the development of financial infrastructure.