Standard Chartered: Maintains $2 trillion stablecoin market-size target, but pushes timeline back two years to 2030
Oct. 15 — In its latest research report, Standard Chartered pushed back its forecast for the stablecoin market to reach $2 trillion from 2028 to 2030, while keeping the $2 trillion target unchanged.
Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets research, said total stablecoin supply has hovered between $300 billion and $320 billion over the past 12 months (currently around $309 billion), with stalled growth being the main reason for the delayed forecast.
He said the current supply plateau is a normal cyclical slowdown, not a structural problem for the industry, and that stablecoin supply could begin expanding again as the crypto market recovers.
Although total supply has stalled, usage is climbing rapidly. Data shows that the average monthly on-chain stablecoin transfer volume in 2026 has approached $10 trillion, a sharp increase from $4 trillion in 2025.
Meanwhile, monthly on-chain transfer volume hit a record $19 trillion in May this year. Overall monthly circulation velocity also doubled, from around 15 times in 2025 to around 30 times.
Usage patterns are also diverging by coin. USDT’s turnover rate has remained steady at around 7 times, with the coin used mainly for dollar savings in emerging markets. USDC’s turnover rate rose from 45 to 80 times, reflecting its broader use in payments, financial transactions, and settlements between AI agents.
The report noted that the fiercest competition will be in payments in developed markets, where new players such as OUSD, infrastructure provider M^0, and USDA+ could emerge as challengers.
The report also pointed out that regulation remains the biggest uncertainty for stablecoin growth. The GENIUS Act is expected to take effect in January 2027, and the pace of its rollout around the world will be a key factor in determining whether the $2 trillion forecast is achieved on schedule.
In short, stalled supply but doubled on-chain transfer volumes reflect stablecoins’ shift from simple asset-reserve instruments to high-frequency payment and settlement tools.
However, the direction of global regulatory policy and the rise of new challengers could both alter the growth trajectory of the stablecoin industry.
Do you think the bottleneck to stablecoin industry growth comes from regulation or from market demand itself? Share your thoughts in the comments.
#Stablecoin $2 trillion target
Oct. 15 — In its latest research report, Standard Chartered pushed back its forecast for the stablecoin market to reach $2 trillion from 2028 to 2030, while keeping the $2 trillion target unchanged.
Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets research, said total stablecoin supply has hovered between $300 billion and $320 billion over the past 12 months (currently around $309 billion), with stalled growth being the main reason for the delayed forecast.
He said the current supply plateau is a normal cyclical slowdown, not a structural problem for the industry, and that stablecoin supply could begin expanding again as the crypto market recovers.
Although total supply has stalled, usage is climbing rapidly. Data shows that the average monthly on-chain stablecoin transfer volume in 2026 has approached $10 trillion, a sharp increase from $4 trillion in 2025.
Meanwhile, monthly on-chain transfer volume hit a record $19 trillion in May this year. Overall monthly circulation velocity also doubled, from around 15 times in 2025 to around 30 times.
Usage patterns are also diverging by coin. USDT’s turnover rate has remained steady at around 7 times, with the coin used mainly for dollar savings in emerging markets. USDC’s turnover rate rose from 45 to 80 times, reflecting its broader use in payments, financial transactions, and settlements between AI agents.
The report noted that the fiercest competition will be in payments in developed markets, where new players such as OUSD, infrastructure provider M^0, and USDA+ could emerge as challengers.
The report also pointed out that regulation remains the biggest uncertainty for stablecoin growth. The GENIUS Act is expected to take effect in January 2027, and the pace of its rollout around the world will be a key factor in determining whether the $2 trillion forecast is achieved on schedule.
In short, stalled supply but doubled on-chain transfer volumes reflect stablecoins’ shift from simple asset-reserve instruments to high-frequency payment and settlement tools.
However, the direction of global regulatory policy and the rise of new challengers could both alter the growth trajectory of the stablecoin industry.
Do you think the bottleneck to stablecoin industry growth comes from regulation or from market demand itself? Share your thoughts in the comments.
#Stablecoin $2 trillion target