#稳定币支付增长45%至4820亿美元
【Crypto Investor Watch】Stablecoin payment volume is up 45% year over year. Is the crypto market shifting from “trading coins” to “using coins”?
The most noteworthy change in stablecoins this year may not be how much their market capitalization has grown, but that real payment activity is increasing.
A report from blockchain data platform Allium shows that stablecoin payment volume totaled $482 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up 45% year over year. The number of payment transactions over the same period reached 1.04 billion, a sharper increase of 71%.
By contrast, as of the end of September, the total stablecoin supply stood at around $305 billion, up only about 0.4% since the start of the year.
That’s what makes these figures interesting: stablecoin payment activity has grown significantly, but the total supply of stablecoins has not expanded at anything like the same pace.
This suggests that stablecoins’ value lies not only in being held, but also in whether they can be used repeatedly to transfer and settle funds. Of course, payment volume is not the same as total stablecoin transfer volume. Data platforms filter out some on-chain activity, so not every transaction should be interpreted as real-world consumption.
Looking at network distribution, Tron plays an important role in stablecoin payments, and USDT still has a clear advantage in usage. This is also a reminder that stablecoin competition is not just about issuers; it also involves transfer costs, settlement speed, liquidity, and merchant access.
For the crypto industry, if stablecoins continue to gain traction in cross-border payments and corporate settlements, market attention may shift from issuance size to actual usage. But growing usage does not mean every related token will benefit. Ultimately, it depends on whether projects can turn network activity into sustained revenue.
I’d rather view these figures as a sign of the industry’s real-world adoption: stablecoins are working to prove that they are not just dollar substitutes in trading markets, but can also serve as infrastructure for moving money.
【Crypto Investor Watch】Stablecoin payment volume is up 45% year over year. Is the crypto market shifting from “trading coins” to “using coins”?
The most noteworthy change in stablecoins this year may not be how much their market capitalization has grown, but that real payment activity is increasing.
A report from blockchain data platform Allium shows that stablecoin payment volume totaled $482 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up 45% year over year. The number of payment transactions over the same period reached 1.04 billion, a sharper increase of 71%.
By contrast, as of the end of September, the total stablecoin supply stood at around $305 billion, up only about 0.4% since the start of the year.
That’s what makes these figures interesting: stablecoin payment activity has grown significantly, but the total supply of stablecoins has not expanded at anything like the same pace.
This suggests that stablecoins’ value lies not only in being held, but also in whether they can be used repeatedly to transfer and settle funds. Of course, payment volume is not the same as total stablecoin transfer volume. Data platforms filter out some on-chain activity, so not every transaction should be interpreted as real-world consumption.
Looking at network distribution, Tron plays an important role in stablecoin payments, and USDT still has a clear advantage in usage. This is also a reminder that stablecoin competition is not just about issuers; it also involves transfer costs, settlement speed, liquidity, and merchant access.
For the crypto industry, if stablecoins continue to gain traction in cross-border payments and corporate settlements, market attention may shift from issuance size to actual usage. But growing usage does not mean every related token will benefit. Ultimately, it depends on whether projects can turn network activity into sustained revenue.
I’d rather view these figures as a sign of the industry’s real-world adoption: stablecoins are working to prove that they are not just dollar substitutes in trading markets, but can also serve as infrastructure for moving money.