PayPal, Stripe, Robinhood, the Trump-backed WorldLiberty Financial.

The list of stablecoin issuers is growing longer by the week. Now add Fidelity Digital Assets to the roster.

The list of stablecoin issuers is growing longer by the week.

Add Fidelity Digital Assets to the roster.

The crypto arm of Fidelity, the investment firm with $5 trillion in assets under management, is testing its own stablecoin, according to a person familiar with the project.

The Financial Times first reported the development on Wednesday.

This is the latest in a series of announcements that shows traditional financial institutions are experimenting with dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies even as the US Senate weighs landmark legislation.

In February, DL News reported that an Atlanta Federal Reserve researcher was convinced the instruments had a role to play in the multi-trillion dollar payments system.

Indeed, stablecoins, which let users easily convert cryptocurrencies to fiat currencies and vice versa, boast $238 billion in market value and processed $16 trillion in volume in 2024.

For years, the market has largely been a duopoly with Tether and Circle accounting for more than 85% of its value.

Bernstein analysts predict the market will double this year. And as it grows, it appears Tether and Circle are going to have a lot of company.

Here are some of the key players in asset management, brokerage, and payments processing that are developing or already using stablecoins:

PayPal

Launching its stablecoin PYUSD in 2023, PayPal stole a march on other payments giants by integrating the coin into its platform.

Much like they do their normal PayPal balances, users can buy, transfer, or spend PYUSD through the firm’s app or website.

The stablecoin sports a market value of $791 million.

Robinhood

Robinhood’s bet on digital assets trading paid off in the fourth quarter when a 700% surge in crypto sales drove profitability at the Silicon Valley powerhouse.

In November 2024, Robinhood launched a stablecoin dubbed USDG in a joint venture with Kraken, the crypto exchange, and Galaxy Digital, a research firm.

USDG lives within the Global Dollar Network. The stablecoin promises users yield on their holdings. It has a market value of $166 million up from $29 million when the year began.

Ripple

In December, Ripple introduced its stablecoin, RLUSD.

Ripple, which has long used XRP to facilitate cross-border payments, plans to use its new coin to “provide stability and liquidity inside its ecosystem.”

“As the U.S. moves toward clearer regulations, we expect to see greater adoption of stablecoins like RLUSD,” Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple said when the company launched RLUSD.

The stablecoin’s market value has grown to $176 million, which is a fraction of XRP’s $140 billion value.

World Liberty Financial

Trump’s crypto empire is also eyeing up stablecoins.

On March 25, his family’s purported DeFi platform, World Liberty Financial, released details of its own stablecoin called USD1.

It will be backed by short-term US government treasuries, US dollar deposits, and other cash equivalents. USD1 tokens will initially be minted on the Ethereum and BNB Chain blockchains.

Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered, the UK bank with a deep presence in Asia, is working on a stablecoin pegged to the Hong Kong dollar.

In February, the lender announced it was developing a stablecoin in a collaboration with Animoca Brands, the Hong Kong-based web3 company, and HKT, a telecommunications provider.

The stablecoin is yet to hit the market.

Pedro Solimano is a markets correspondent based in Buenos Aires. Got a tip? Email him at psolimano@dlnews.com.