Stablecoins Just Crushed PayPal and Visa in Monthly Transaction Volume—Here’s What It Means
Forget the legacy rails. Digital dollars are running the show now.
The Numbers Don't Lie
Monthly transaction volumes for stablecoins have officially left two of the biggest names in traditional payments—PayPal and Visa—in the digital dust. This isn't a niche milestone; it's a fundamental shift in how value moves globally. The data's in, and the narrative that crypto is just speculative gambling just got a lot harder to sell.
Why This Cuts Deep
This surge isn't about buying the dip on some meme coin. It's about utility. Stablecoins are becoming the preferred plumbing for cross-border settlements, remittances, and round-the-clock treasury management—areas where traditional finance moves at a snail's pace and charges a premium for the privilege. They bypass the old correspondent banking mess entirely.
The New Financial Stack
Think of stablecoins as the high-speed internet protocol for money, while the legacy systems are still on dial-up. This volume proves adoption is moving beyond traders and into the hands of businesses and individuals who simply need a better tool. It turns out, when you offer a faster, cheaper, and globally accessible dollar, people use it—who would've thought?
A Provocative Reality Check
Let's be cynical for a second: Wall Street spent decades building moats with fees and friction. Crypto just built a bridge over them. This volume milestone is a direct challenge to the very business model of rent-seeking intermediaries. The old guard is watching their lunch get eaten, one blockchain settlement at a time. The future of finance isn't being debated in a boardroom; it's being validated on-chain, 24/7.
Stablecoin transactions volume rises amid rapid on-chain growth
On-chain data from Artemis Analytics revealed that adjusted stablecoin transaction volume reached over $3.3 trillion, representing a 64.1% increase over the previous month. The volume of transactions is approximately 1.5 billion, representing a 3.1% increase during the same period.
According to Artemis’ statistics, the volume of stablecoin addresses has increased to over 44.8 million, a 3.6% rise over the previous 30 days, reflecting ongoing growth in network involvement.
As of December 16, on-chain data revealed that Europe accounted for the largest percentage of adjusted stablecoin transactions, with 217k transactions, or 33.35% of the daily volume. North America came in second with 204.8K transactions, or 31.47% of all adjusted stablecoin activity.
Asia reached 157,700 transactions, or 24.23% of the total. Additionally, smaller regions, such as Africa and Oceania, combined, accounted for less than 1% of transactions.
Delphi Digital’s report revealed that the overall supply of stablecoins increased to around $308 billion. According to the report, stablecoins account for just under 14% of the US money supply (M2). The report further stated that the overall stablecoin market remains relatively concentrated.
Delphi Digital revealed that stablecoins dominate more than 86% of the market, with Tether’s USDT accounting for approximately 60.8% of the entire stablecoin supply. Additionally, Circle’s (CRCL) USD Coin (USDC) makes up about 25.4%
As previously reported by Cryptopolitan, the stablecoin sector has been experiencing rapid expansion. Over the past 12 months, stablecoins have grown by 52.1%, increasing from $203.728 billion to $309.911 billion. The report revealed that during the October market crisis, stablecoins continued to exhibit a growth trend.
According to the report, stablecoin market capitalization fell to $302.837 billion in November 2024, but it recovered to reach a new high of $310.117 billion on December 13.
Stablecoins drive competition among traditional finance platforms
Stablecoins have gained more widespread acceptance in traditional finance since U.S. President Donald TRUMP signed the GENIUS Act in July. The GENIUS Act established regulations for the production of digital assets.
According to a Delphi Digital analysis, stablecoin issuers collectively hold nearly $133 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds, making them the 19th-largest investors.
Delphi Digital claimed that as new issuers and platforms enter the market, competition is expected to intensify until 2026. The report noted that re-distribution will become the primary difference if issuance gets commoditized.
According to the report, the largest portion of settlement demand is likely to be directed towards stablecoin issuers with the strongest integration with payment rails, exchange liquidity, and merchant software.
The stablecoin market is becoming increasingly competitive. Klarna announced the launch of KlarnaUSD, joining the increasing number of financial companies that are launching their own native stablecoins. Stripe’s USDB, PayPal’s PYUSD, and Cloudflare’s NET are further instances.
Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is reportedly moving to allow users to fund their accounts using stablecoins, in an effort to stay competitive with rivals such as Robinhood (HOOD), Charles Schwab (SCHW), and Coinbase (COIN).
Earlier this year, Tastytrade introduced a comparable stablecoin funding alternative for international traders, eliminating the need for businesses to manage custody and providing automatic USD conversion. ZeroHash serves as the foundation for both Interactive Brokers and Tastytrade.
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