Stablecoin Transaction Volume Surpasses Visa's Global Total for the First Time

In what's a major milestone, stablecoin transaction volume surpassed Visa's global total for the first time in 2024.

Stablecoin transactions outpaced Visa's global volume in 2024, a new report by Bitwise Asset Management reveals.

As per the report's findings, stablecoins processed transactions to the tune of approximately $14 trillion over the past year, surpassing Visa's transactions of $13 trillion. This marks a significant milestone in the evolution of the global payments system.

The record volume follows a period of rapid growth for stablecoins, with transactions nearly doubling from an estimated $7 trillion in 2023. Stablecoins, such as Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC, are designed to maintain a stable price, in contrast to more volatile cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum.

This stability, along with their low costs and high speed, makes stablecoins suitable for cross-border payments, an area where demand is increasing. They are proving especially useful in regions with volatile local currencies, such as parts of Latin America and Africa.

Major financial institutions are also showing interest in stablecoins, further boosting the market. Prominent companies like PayPal, Fidelity, and Bank of America are exploring or actively using stablecoins.

Moreover, policymakers are examining stablecoins through two key U.S. bills, the GENIUS Act and the STABLE Act, both of which are being considered by Congress.

A significant portion of this stablecoin activity occurs on the Ethereum network, which has faced challenges with high fees and scaling despite being the main blockchain for these dollar-pegged digital assets. However, Layer-2 scaling solutions like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base are assisting Ethereum in handling this volume.

Working in conjunction with Ethereum's core infrastructure, these L2s facilitate stablecoin payments to be executed efficiently and economically on the network.