The competition for the domain of Stablecoin is entering a third phase and companies such as Tether, issuer of the token and larger circle, No. 2, they are establishing their positions as the industry faces a greater regulation in the form of the markets of the European Union in the cryptographic assignments regime (Mica) and the legislation of the United States that work through their way through their way Digital and custodians of the custodians.
This last stage will feature banks, large and small, as well as the regular payment companies that are weighing the best way to integrate tokens into their existing businesses, according to Ran Goldi, senior vice president of payments in Firblocks.
Stablecoins, blockchain -based tokens that imitate US dollars for the most part, have become a great business. The Tether USDT is the clear leader, with a market capitalization close to $ 145 billion. The Circle USDC has more than $ 60 billion in circulation and the company is considering a public list in the New York Stock Exchange. The Stablecoin market could grow to $ 2 billion by the end of 2028, said Standard Chartered in a note on Tuesday.
“We are going to see the banks broadcasting Stablecoins, since they are under Mica,” Goldi said in an interview. “You are seeing financial institutions that are Fintechs that enter as Robinhood, Ripple and Revolut. At the end of this year, you will see perhaps 50 more stables.
The industry has already gone through two stages, Goldi said. The first occurred when the USDC faced the regulated commercial firm of the United States, Paxos, which had been associated with Crypto Exchange Binance to broadcast Busd. For regulatory reasons, Paxos had to drop the Cobe and Circle won that round, Goldi said, adding that the new USDG consortium of Paxos is growing in stature and it is likely to play an important role in the future.
The second stage was between Circle and Tether.
“The USDC was trying to be larger than the USDT, but then the USDC fell a little with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, etc. It was more difficult for people to accept than the product, especially people outside the United States, while the USDT has grown tremendously.
However, it is worth noting that the USDC has a license under Mica, which gives access to 27 EU nations with a total population of approximately 450 million people. USDT is not.
Growth in international payments
Stablecoins grew to fame as an essential way of moving money between volatile cryptocurrencies, satisfying a particular need given the shortage of industry’s fiat ramps. Coins of various types of various types bloom even more with the explosion of decentralized finance (DEFI).
Looking back, Crypto’s first days show an evolution of payment services suppliers (PSPs), starting with those who wanted to use cryptocurrencies to solve their invoices. This was followed by a second wave of company from company to company such as Bridge, recently acquired by Stripe and Zero Hash, Alfred Pay, Best and others.
“Some of these PSPs are companies that may not hear much, but in reality they are moving billions in Stablecoins, attending companies to pay other companies most of the time,” Goldi said. He pointed out that less than 20% of the total transaction volume of the fire blocks was stablcoins in 2020, increasing to 54% last year.
For a typical use case, consider an importer in Brazil who wants to bring a container and pay someone in Türkiye or Singapore. Take the Brazilian real, it makes them a stable and sends the funds directly to the exporter or changes them to the destination currency and pays with that, Goldi said.
Some banks have already realized the case of use of cross -border payments, with the tastes of Bank Brazil in Brazil, BTG Bank and DBS in Singapore that serve commercial clients with accounts that support Stablecoins. Others still weigh the best case of use for them.
“We have contacted us dozens of banks,” Goldi said. “They are asking if they should be on/off, or maintain reservations, or maybe they are thinking of issuing a stable.
According to these conversations, Goldi said he believes that most banks are writing strategic plans that will probably be presented at the end of this quarter.
“It will be interesting to see if the banks build something on their own, or use Bny Mellon, for example, that serves the banks, or a supplier such as the fire blocks. I think that the large levels of level 1 such as JPMorgan, Citi and Morgan Stanley will build their own technology, while the level 2 banks will want to use some hosted technology suppliers,” Goldi said. “Of course, they are banks and move slowly, so I think they would seek to approve those plans for the end of this year and may do something in 2026.
