Stablecoins just posted a wince-inducing number: $891 billion in adjusted Q3 2026 transfer volume, four times early-2023 levels — per a new Coinbase and The Block Research report, "The Always-On Dollar."
Composition matters more than the headline: over $400 million an hour moved organically, 73% of it outside US banking hours. Seven of the ten largest US banks have tested stablecoins or tokenized deposits for settlement; 30% of mid-market cross-border firms now use or pilot them, up from 10% in 2024.
And the float barely grew — market cap near $301 billion, roughly flat year-on-year. Same money, far more velocity.
Why it matters: stablecoins are starting to look less like assets and more like rails. The honest caveat: Coinbase commissioned the research, and Standard Chartered just pushed its $2 trillion stablecoin forecast from 2028 to 2030 on slower supply growth. Watch usage data, not projections.
If big banks start issuing their own stablecoins, do open networks win on distribution — or do the banks win on trust?
#CryptoNews #Stablecoins #Banking #Adoption
Composition matters more than the headline: over $400 million an hour moved organically, 73% of it outside US banking hours. Seven of the ten largest US banks have tested stablecoins or tokenized deposits for settlement; 30% of mid-market cross-border firms now use or pilot them, up from 10% in 2024.
And the float barely grew — market cap near $301 billion, roughly flat year-on-year. Same money, far more velocity.
Why it matters: stablecoins are starting to look less like assets and more like rails. The honest caveat: Coinbase commissioned the research, and Standard Chartered just pushed its $2 trillion stablecoin forecast from 2028 to 2030 on slower supply growth. Watch usage data, not projections.
If big banks start issuing their own stablecoins, do open networks win on distribution — or do the banks win on trust?
#CryptoNews #Stablecoins #Banking #Adoption