Quick Breakdown
- Stablecoin payment flows could reach $56.6 trillion by 2030, growing nearly 80% annually
- USDT leads CeFi usage, while USDC dominates DeFi transaction volume
- Governments and major payment firms are accelerating stablecoin adoption and regulation
Stablecoin payment flows could surge to $56.6 trillion by 2030, positioning dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies as one of the most influential payment rails in global finance, according to new estimates from Bloomberg Intelligence.
Bloomberg data shows stablecoin transaction flows reached $2.9 trillion in 2025, suggesting annual growth of nearly 80% over the next five years if projections hold.
USDT dominates CeFi as USDC leads DeFi activity
Tether’s USDT remains the most widely used stablecoin for everyday payments, business settlements, and savings, particularly within centralized finance (CeFi), Bloomberg noted. However, Circle’s USDC continues to dominate decentralized finance (DeFi), where it is the preferred stablecoin for on-chain applications.
Stablecoin flows climbed 81% year-on-year in 2025, though the share of volume originating from decentralized platforms declined, based on data from crypto analytics firm Artemis. Artemis co-founder Anthony Yim attributed the shift to rising stablecoin adoption in emerging markets, where users are increasingly turning to dollar-backed tokens amid geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
Despite USDT’s dominance in usage, USDC recorded higher total transaction volume, reaching $18.3 trillion in 2025, compared with $13.3 trillion for USDT. Together, the two stablecoins accounted for more than 95% of the record $33 trillion in stablecoin transactions last year, marking a 72% increase from 2024.
From a valuation standpoint, USDT still leads the market with a $186.9 billion market capitalization, far ahead of USDC’s $74.9 billion. Overall, the stablecoin market is currently valued at $312 billion, while the US Treasury estimates it could grow to $2 trillion by 2028.
Governments and institutions move closer to adoption
Momentum is also building at the regulatory and institutional level. Since US President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law in July, countries including Canada and the UK have renewed efforts to roll out stablecoin regulatory frameworks as early as 2026, signalling a broader push to integrate stablecoins into mainstream finance.
Institutional players are moving quickly as well. Western Union plans to launch a stablecoin-based settlement system on the Solana blockchain in the first half of 2026, while MoneyGram and Zelle are rolling out their own stablecoin solutions to enable faster and cheaper cross-border payments.
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