Stablecoins are evolving from a niche crypto trading tool to a potential layer of global financial infrastructure, according to Australian investment bank Macquarie.
While most of the US dollar-denominated stablecoin activity, primarily Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC, still comes from cryptocurrency trading, which accounts for around 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 advancing in cross-border remittances, but adoption as a form of payment still has room to grow, presenting an attractive total addressable market (TAM) opportunity,” analysts led by Paul Golding said in Monday’s note.
Regulatory progress is helping to drive change. Analysts pointed to developments such as the US GENIUS Act, Europe’s MiCA framework and emerging Asia-Pacific regulations as factors pushing stablecoins from speculative uses to institutional settlement tools.
Read More: Stablecoin Market Expands, Bitcoin Rebounds as Iran War Panic Cools
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a fixed value, usually pegged to the US dollar, and are widely used in digital asset markets for transactions, payments and transfers.
Tether’s USDT is the largest stablecoin by market value and trading volume, and serves as a key source of liquidity on crypto exchanges, while Circle’s USDC is the second largest and is widely used in institutional and decentralized finance applications. Together, tokens underpin much of the cryptocurrency market activity and are increasingly explored for payments, remittances and settlements.
The growth of stablecoins has been rapid. Macquarie estimates the combined market capitalization of the major coins at approximately $312 billion in March 2026, up approximately 50% year-over-year and representing around 7%-8% of the total crypto market.
Transactional activity is increasing even faster. The adjusted volume of stablecoin transfers reached approximately $11 trillion in 2025, the bank said, suggesting that on-chain dollars are becoming a significant economic tool both within crypto markets and in some real-world payment corridors.
Payment networks and fintech companies are beginning to integrate the technology. The report noted that Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) now support settlement in USDC, allowing card obligations to be settled on-chain.
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 US regional banks most at risk in $500 billion stablecoin exchange
