A seismic shift in global payments is imminent as new research warns stablecoins are poised to overtake the transaction dominance of Visa and Mastercard within the next decade. The blockchain analytics forecast projects price-pegged cryptocurrency volumes could skyrocket to $1.5 quadrillion by 2035, fueled by accelerating adoption of on-chain payment rails and a generational pivot toward digital money. This milestone signals a fundamental infrastructure overhaul, with recent 2025 data already showing stablecoin transactions surpassing $33 trillion—topping the combined throughput of the traditional card giants.

Point-of-sale adoption and corporate deals accelerate stablecoin growth

Another major catalyst is the growing acceptance of the price-pegged cryptocurrencies in everyday commerce. Point-of-sale integration alone could contribute as much as $232 trillion to the economy by 2035.

But as merchants have begun managing stablecoins directly, they’re turning them into practical tools rather than merely trading instruments. So, bulk financial companies are preparing for this. Now that Stripe recently purchased Bridge for $1.1 billion, Mastercard said it would be acquiring BVNK for up to $1.8 billion.

These actions demonstrate that traditional payment institutions view stable digital assets as part of future structures and systems rather than a fad. Regulatory changes are also driving adoption.

Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act last summer, as proof that policymakers began to take stablecoins more seriously, the report calls out as a case in point.

Clearer rules could give companies a reason to develop products and services in stablecoins, reducing uncertainty. This combination of both corporate investment and regulatory clarity brings stablecoins closer to mainstream use.

Payment companies won’t wait until 2035. Instead, they’re currently designing systems that could be applied to the larger-scale delivery of stablecoin payments.

Faster, cheaper payments are challenging traditional networks

There’s also a powerful economic case for stablecoins. In contrast to conventional payment rails, which involve multiple intermediaries and batch processing, stablecoins settle almost immediately.

They work 24/7 and cross borders without the delays of correspondent banking. Such benefits can lower payment charges and settlement times and ease reconciling. They are embedded in software to seamlessly integrate stablecoin payments into a business or system, automate workflows, and move funds from one place to another without waiting days or weeks for settlement.

That is already driving adoption across remittances, business-to-business payments, and treasury management. The current data shows how fast the market is growing at a moment’s notice.

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