Ashutosh Sharma
Global Head of BFS Consulting
Visweshwaran Narasimhan
Global Head of Cards and Payments Consulting
If the Bitcoin rally spearheaded the crypto boom of 2017, the incoming explosion of stablecoins in 2025 might be its next historic inflection point. Global stablecoin supply has grown nearly 54% YoY, surpassing $250 billion from $20 billion five years back. Per Coinbase, at the moment, more than 161 million users hold stablecoins, and over 81% of crypto-aware SMBs in the US are interested in adopting stablecoins.
Recently, the US Senate passed the landmark GENIUS Act, aimed at regulating payment stablecoins in the US. Key tenets include:
Only specific approved entities can issue stablecoins
Every stablecoin must maintain a 1:1 reserve backing, pegged to the USD
Stablecoins must meet regulatory audit, compliance, and reporting standards
Stable coins are digital tokens pegged to relatively stable assets like national currencies. This helps them maintain a consistent value. Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies, stablecoins are better suited for decentralized payment systems and value storage. They offer banks an avenue for value movements, because they are programmable and make cross–border transactions much easier.
The 1:1 reserve requirement can potentially lock up capital, limit income, paralyze growth, and disrupt core revenue models. Detractors say it might deter participation and slow down adoption to offset the liquidity pressure. Banks are likely to join forces with platform providers wherein they will focus on compliance while tech providers will be responsible for issuance. Currently, PayPal, Circle, and Tether (USDT) are actively working on integrations.
Despite global potential, the success of stablecoins transforming payments and finance will depend heavily on domestic adoption. If stablecoins are to be widely used for regular purchases, they must be integrated into existing payments infrastructure. As more consumers use stablecoins for everyday transactions, merchants will be incentivized to accept them. Lower transaction fees and faster settlements will be additional motivators.
The momentum is undeniably building.
Recently, payment giant, Fiserv announced that it plans to roll out a blockchain-based digital asset platform, which promises to bring thousands of banks and merchants into the crypto economy. Market leader, Tether, is also set to launch a US complaint stablecoin by the end of the year. Crypto firm, Ripple Labs and Circle Internet Group have both applied for a US banking license. Meanwhile, Visa is integrating stablecoin settlement capabilities into its network, potentially bridging the gap between fiat and tokenized currency. Apart from the crypto natives, some telecoms are exploring their own iterations. Ripple’s XRP Ledger is marketing itself as a preferred chain for stablecoin issuance.
The financial sector is already beset by disrupters and startups who want a piece of the pie, but they are not deeply entrenched into core banking – at least not yet. But it is likely that those feasting on the edges (think payments, insurance, financial management, loans) will now get hungry. If anything, The GENIUS Act gives companies like Walmart, Amazon, and Target a compelling reason and clear pathway to launch their own dollar-backed stablecoins. These tokens could fuel more efficient loyalty programs and eliminate third-party transaction fees, effectively solving actual customer and business pain points while opening new revenue streams. Much like Uber and Airbnb unlocked new growth by side-stepping traditional ownership models, stablecoins may allow retailers and tech platforms to shapeshift and conquer.
Faster and cheaper transfers:
This is perhaps the most immediate and impactful use case. A customer in the US sending money to a family member in another country can do so directly from their banking app, converting USD to a stablecoin and sending it instantly to the recipient’s crypto wallet, who can then convert it to their local currency. Businesses can pay suppliers and contractors in real time, reducing delays and optimizing working capital.
Wallets become dynamic financial interfaces:
Wallets must integrate identity checks and regulatory controls directly into the user experience and be equipped to handle different types of use cases, whether it's a customer earning a reward or a business managing cross-border payments. From an enterprise perspective, wallets must plug into real-time financial workflows by automating refunds and making vendor payments and stablecoin-based rewards programs more seamless. All this translates to a system of modular APIs and SDKs that can be embedded into enterprise-facing portals, supply chain systems, and digital commerce platforms.
Gateways need to support real-time, multi-chain payments:
Companies must begin investing in systems that can process hybrid transactions across multiple blockchains. This will be essential for future use cases like post-trade services, real-time treasury functions, or international supplier payments that require both traceability and speed.
Smart contracts make payments programmable:
One of the most transformative elements of stablecoin-based payments is programmability. Platforms that support event-triggered payments, subscription billing, or milestone-based disbursements will need to integrate contract logic directly into ERP, procurement, or payout systems. This calls for a new enterprise design mindset, one that anticipates programmability as a core part of financial workflows.
Interoperability will define scalability:
The GENIUS Act does not limit the number of issues, which means interoperability may become a pressing challenge. Today, stablecoins issued by different entities are not necessarily interchangeable, even if they are pegged to the same currency. Over time, token registries, chain-agnostic settlement layers, and interoperability protocols will be needed to ensure liquidity and ease of use.
New value streams for payment tech providers:
The emergence of ‘stablecoins-as-a-service’, where tech providers lend services to banks and non-banking corporations that wish to issue stablecoins but lack the necessary tech infrastructure will pick up pace. These will enable banks, retailers, and other enterprises to issue, manage, and transact with stablecoins without having to build core systems from scratch. BitGo, Paxos, and Circle are all offering services such as reserve management, smart contracts, and regulatory infrastructure that are critical to leveraging stablecoin possibilities.
The potential of stablecoins to revolutionize payments, remittances, and decentralized finance is undeniable — but not without risks surrounding consumer protection, financial stability, and illicit activity. Whether it will become a successful instrument will depend on how seamlessly it can move across borders, how well it can protect users, and how effectively it can draw greater participation in economies across the growth spectrum. The technology is up to date; the use cases are real; what is perhaps needed is a shared vision of what the future of money looks like.