{"id":93511,"date":"2026-01-24T11:50:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T08:50:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=93511"},"modified":"2026-01-24T11:55:43","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T08:55:43","slug":"stablecoins-share-in-real-payments-remains-below-0-02","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/stablecoins-share-in-real-payments-remains-below-0-02\/","title":{"rendered":"Stablecoins&#8217; Share in Real Payments Remains Below 0.02%"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In 2025, the volume of transactions involving <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/what-are-stablecoins\">stablecoins<\/a> reached $35 trillion. However, only about $390 billion were linked to actual payments, representing approximately 0.02% of the global figure, according to a report by McKinsey and Artemis Analytics.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We just published the most accurate onchain estimate of stablecoin payments ever.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone keeps quoting $10T\u2013$30T \u201cstablecoin payments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That number is wrong. By a lot.<\/p>\n<p>Built with <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/McKinsey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@McKinsey<\/a> payments team, we used a bottom-up approach to isolate real payments.<\/p>\n<p>This report\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BMpMzFPtVU\">pic.twitter.com\/BMpMzFPtVU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Artemis (@artemis) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/artemis\/status\/2014742533121966474?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 23, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The majority of activity in stablecoins is related to non-payment activities. Researchers highlighted key examples:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>movement of funds between wallets by exchanges and custodians;<\/li>\n<li>automated interactions of smart contracts;<\/li>\n<li>liquidity management, arbitrage, and flows related to crypto trading;<\/li>\n<li>protocol-level mechanisms that break down operations into multiple steps, increasing the number of transactions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">High Expectations<\/h2>\n<p>The stablecoin market <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/stablecoin-market-capitalisation-surpasses-300-billion\">exceeded $300 billion<\/a> compared to $30 billion in 2020. Public forecasts reflect expectations of further growth.<\/p>\n<p>US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that by 2030, the supply of fiat-pegged tokens could reach $3 trillion. Leading financial institutions offer similar estimates.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cThese expectations have heightened interest from their side, with many beginning to explore the use of stablecoins in various payment and settlement scenarios,\u201d the report states.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Experts identified three main areas, yet the volume of stablecoin operations in these remains minimal:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>global payroll and remittances \u2014 stablecoins accounted for about $90 billion over the year, less than 1% of the total $1.2 trillion;<\/li>\n<li>business payments (B2B) \u2014 approximately $226 billion, representing a 0.01% share of the total $1600 trillion;<\/li>\n<li>capital markets \u2014 $8 billion or the same 0.01% of the global $200 trillion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Real Prospects<\/h2>\n<p>While the share of stablecoins in the total volume of real payments remains insignificant, it reflects real and growing use in specific scenarios.<\/p>\n<p>In the realm of remittances and payroll, stablecoins offer an attractive alternative to existing channels due to virtually instant operations with minimal costs.<\/p>\n<p>Stablecoins can address inefficiencies in cross-border settlements in international trade. B2B segment users are already utilizing tokens to optimize payments in supply chains and improve liquidity management. This is particularly true for small and medium-sized enterprises, experts noted.<\/p>\n<p>In capital markets, stablecoins reduce counterparty risk and shorten the settlement cycle. Some asset managers use stablecoins for dividend payments or reinvestment, bypassing the need for bank services.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers highlighted three main observations:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>stablecoins are gaining popularity where they offer clear advantages over existing systems. For instance, spending on token-linked cards grew by 673% year-on-year;<\/li>\n<li>the growth in stablecoin payment volume is driven by the B2B segment \u2014 up 733% in 2025, accounting for about 60% of the total $390 billion;<\/li>\n<li>the main activity is concentrated in Asia, with Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan dominating. The volume of stablecoin payments sent in the region amounted to $245 billion. North America accounted for $95 billion, and Europe for $50 billion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>According to experts, these patterns indicate that the adoption of stablecoins is occurring in a limited number of scenarios. Further expansion of use will depend on the success of implemented use cases and their replicability elsewhere.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cStablecoins have the potential to significantly transform the payment system. However, realizing these possibilities depends on ongoing efforts in technology, regulation, and market adoption,\u201d experts concluded.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Earlier, the International Monetary Fund <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/imf-warns-of-global-financial-risks-from-stablecoins\">warned of global financial risks<\/a> associated with stablecoins, especially those pegged to the dollar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The volume of stablecoin transactions in 2025 reached $35 trillion. However, only about $390 billion were linked to actual payments, representing approximately 0.02% of the global figure, according to a report by McKinsey and Artemis Analytics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"Stablecoin transactions in 2025 hit $35 trillion, but real payments were only $390 billion, or 0.02%.","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1198,1252,807],"class_list":["post-93511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-crypto-payments","tag-reports","tag-stablecoins"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"301","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"Stablecoin transactions in 2025 hit $35 trillion, but real payments were only $390 billion, or 0.02%.","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93511"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93513,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93511\/revisions\/93513"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}