Cross-border payments remain slow, costly, and complex, with legacy rails like SWIFT causing multi-day delays and billions in hidden fees. Stablecoins, digital tokens pegged to fiat currencies, offer a faster, cheaper alternative by enabling near-instant settlement with predictable value.

Adoption is accelerating: stablecoins processed $27.6 trillion in transfer volume in 2024, surpassing the combined volume of Visa and Mastercard, while their market capitalization grew to $227 billion by early 2025. Major firms are investing heavily; Stripe’s $1.1 billion acquisition of a stablecoin platform highlights the shift.

This blog examines the rise of stablecoins, their potential to cut cross-border B2B costs by up to 90%, and which options businesses can trust most.

Stablecoin Market Cap Soars to $227 Billion

The stablecoin market has experienced significant growth in recent years, as businesses and traders have increasingly adopted digital dollars for payments and cryptocurrency trading. Over 80% of trading volume on major crypto exchanges now involves stablecoins, and crypto firms use them as default “cash” for on-chain operations. This growth has driven the combined market capitalization of stablecoins from around $120 billion in mid-2023 to roughly $250 billion by mid-2025.

A March 2025 report noted that the stablecoin supply rose by about 28% year-over-year, with trading volume reaching $27.6 trillion in 2024. Industry analysts expect this growth to continue – Bitwise projects a $400 billion stablecoin market by the end of 2025.

Bitcoin-pegged tokens, such as Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), dominate the scene. USDT alone has a market cap of approximately $143 billion (as of 2025), with USDC at around $58 billion. Together, these two represent the vast majority of stablecoin liquidity. A recent survey by Fireblocks found 90% of payments professionals are already taking action on stablecoins, drawn by their ability to settle payments instantly around the clock.

These figures reflect multiple drivers of demand. First, stablecoins have become the base currency for cryptocurrency trading – Fed estimates place them at 80% of exchange volume. Second, payment fintechs and merchants utilize stablecoins to facilitate seamless global transfers in and out of crypto wallets. Third, businesses in emerging markets are increasingly using dollar-backed stablecoins as a de facto reserve currency to hedge against local currency volatility.

Banks in Asia and Latin America pilot stablecoin remittance corridors, offering an alternative in countries with unreliable banking networks. Indeed, 3% of the entire global cross-border payment value is already flowing through stablecoins (as of Q1 2025) – a dramatic adoption rate for a new technology.

Stablecoins have gone mainstream due to their broad utility. They deliver the familiar stability of fiat money with the efficiency of crypto rails. This surge is fueling new payment infrastructure and industry consolidation – including landmark deals like Stripe’s $1.1B acquisition of a stablecoin platform.

Stripe’s $1.1 B Bridge Bet: Mainstreaming Stablecoin Payments

In early 2025, Stripe announced that it had closed on a $1.1 billion purchase of Bridge, a Silicon Valley startup that offers an API to accept stablecoins. This is by far Stripe’s largest acquisition to date, signaling the payments giant’s serious commitment to the future of crypto. Bridge (founded by former Coinbase/Square engineers) provides tools for businesses to accept dozens of stablecoins. By buying Bridge, Stripe instantly gained turnkey stablecoin rails for its millions of merchants.

Why pay so much for a startup? Stripe’s CEO explained that the company anticipated Bridge would grow quickly, but adoption has accelerated even faster than expected. Looking ahead, Stripe believes that stablecoin strategies will become essential for anyone moving money programmatically.

Stripe views stablecoins as the future of digital currency transactions. By acquiring Bridge, Stripe positions itself as the go-to provider for stablecoin payments – both crypto-native merchants and traditional businesses can now plug stablecoin payouts/payments directly into Stripe’s platform.

Industry observers agree the deal has been a wake-up call. FXC Intelligence reports that Stripe’s Bridge acquisition – announced in late 2024, closed in Feb. 2025 – “is widely seen as a catalyst for the industry taking [stablecoin payments] seriously.”

Stripe quickly followed up with product launches: in 2024, it enabled crypto checkout features in Europe, and by late 2025, it offered a “Pay with Crypto” option, allowing merchants to accept stablecoins via Stripe’s gateway.

90% Cost Savings: Cheaper Cross-Border B2B Payments

A key attraction of stablecoins is the cost savings they offer. Traditional cross-border wires involve multiple banks (each taking fees), currency conversions, and expensive correspondent banking. By contrast, stablecoin transfers are processed directly on the blockchain, resulting in lower payments. This translates to huge cost advantages. For example, PayPal’s new “Pay with Crypto” service charges only 0.99% per transaction – about 90% lower than typical international credit card fees. In a July 2025 press release, PayPal noted that using crypto (and stablecoins) can reduce transaction fees by up to 90% compared to legacy rails.

Similarly, industry reports indicate that stablecoin transfers account for a tiny fraction of bank wire transactions. One analysis notes that on-chain fees are often just cents per transfer. A USDC payment on Solana might cost $0.0003, while on Tron, a USDT transaction is under $0.10, compared to approximately $25–50 per SWIFT wire. Bitwave found stablecoin payments can be 50–70% cheaper than traditional rails. The effect of compound interest on large B2B flows: for a $1 million payment, bypassing a 1–3% wire fee could save tens of thousands of dollars.

Put simply, stablecoins eliminate the middlemen. No correspondent banks or legacy settlement layers are taking a cut. Payments settle peer-to-peer on a shared ledger. Businesses report reducing remittance fees from ~6.6% of the transaction value to under 1% via stablecoins. Stablecoins deliver unmatched speed, cost-efficiency, and 24/7 uptime compared to the “opaque routes” of legacy wires. For multinational firms and B2B marketplaces, these savings are transformational, enabling margins that are not possible with old systems.

Many companies are already routing high-volume B2B payments via stablecoins. Conduit observed that import/export businesses in LatAm and Africa can bypass typical 5%+ FX fees by using USDC stablecoin transfers. Banks’ own pilots show similarly dramatic results: HSBC’s blockchain FX platform, akin to an internal stablecoin, has cut settlement costs by 25% compared to legacy FX.

Regulatory Landscape: Safe Stablecoins for Business

As stablecoins become mainstream, businesses naturally ask which coins are safe and reliable. The landscape is evolving quickly with new regulations in the US, EU, and beyond. Generally, the safest stablecoins for business use are those with strict regulatory oversight, transparent reserve management, and robust compliance controls.

For example, dollar-pegged stablecoins issued under U.S. or state supervision carry more credibility. USD Coin (USDC) – managed by Circle/Centre – publishes regular reserve attestations and is registered with the U.S. Treasury (FinCEN) and UK FCA. Pax Dollar (USDP) and Binance USD (BUSD) were previously regulated by the NYDFS (Paxos) before their license changes, and the NYDFS also regulates Gemini Dollar (GUSD).

These issuers must hold high-quality collateral (cash or Treasury bonds) in a 1:1 ratio for every token, as audited by major accounting firms. Such requirements make their pegs robust. Enterprise “tokenized deposits” (digital bank money) could be even safer, since they sit on banks’ balance sheets and enjoy FDIC-like protections (unlike off-book stablecoin reserves).

In contrast, algorithmic or crypto-collateralized stablecoins (like TerraUSD or DAI) are riskier. They lack a direct on-demand backing by cash. Businesses typically avoid these for payments. When regulators look at stablecoins, they focus on reserve transparency and issuer controls.

Jurisdictions are moving to codify safety standards. The European Union’s MiCA regime (enacted 2023) already defines strict rules for “asset-referenced tokens” (stablecoins), requiring full collateral, capital buffers, and issuer licensing. In the U.S., Congress passed the 2025 GENIUS Act to regulate dollar-backed stablecoins – mandating federal approval and reserve auditing for any issuer. The UK’s upcoming Finance Act likewise classifies specific e-money tokens. In Asia, regulators in Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore are implementing licensing requirements for stablecoin issuers.

Enterprises vet stablecoins in the same way they vet banks: by examining reserve attestations and their relationships with regulators. For example, Paxos markets USDP as fully backed and NYDFS-approved, and Circle emphasizes its compliance with U.S. regulations.

Finally, it’s worth noting that even as private stablecoins expand, public-sector momentum is growing. Many central banks are researching CBDCs, and some are exploring regulated stablecoin frameworks. The U.S. government has signaled support – in 2025, a White House statement celebrated a new law to “legitimize [stablecoin] asset class” and strengthen the dollar’s role. Meanwhile, multilateral pilots (e.g,. Project Guardian in Singapore, Helvetia in Switzerland) show global regulators aligning on tokenized cash. All of this suggests that, by the mid-2020s, stablecoins meeting official standards will be widely accepted in the financial sector.

Conclusion

Stablecoins have moved from fringe assets to core infrastructure. With $227+ billion in circulation, backing real trade and remittance flows, and new regulations codifying their use, they are poised to revolutionize cross-border B2B payments. Stripe’s $1.1B Bridge acquisition and PayPal’s crypto products underscore the moment: corporates and payment networks now view stablecoins as mainstream rails. The cost savings (often 50–90% cheaper than legacy wires) are a game-changer for international commerce.

As regulators set clearer guardrails, businesses can embrace stablecoins with greater confidence. For U.S. financial professionals, crypto enthusiasts, and corporate readers alike, this is the new frontier of payments – one where money moves at internet speed, costs a fraction, and crosses borders like never before.