Stablecoins have become the most successful product in crypto in 2025, not because of speculation, but because they finally work at real-world scale.

They offer something the digital world has always lacked: money designed for a global, internet-native economy.

With more than $300 billion in circulation, stablecoins now surpass nearly every other category in the industry. While USDT and USDC still dominate supply, the market is entering a new phase. For the first time, regulated financial institutions are participating at scale.

The era of accumulation is ending.
The era of utility is beginning.

The Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act marks a turning point.

It is the first U.S. federal framework to clearly define how payment stablecoins can be issued and regulated. The act establishes two formal paths:

• State-regulated trust companies can issue stablecoins

• National and state banks can issue stablecoins with Federal Reserve approval

This single change unlocked the market for traditional finance. The effects are already visible:

• JPMorgan is scaling JPM Coin to billions in daily corporate settlements

• PayPal launched PYUSD and is preparing to expand under the new framework

• BNY Mellon is supporting major issuers through tokenized cash and custody

• Visa is exploring bank-issued stablecoins across its settlement network

• Regional banks and neobanks are piloting compliant tokenized deposits

This is only the beginning.

As licensing becomes standardized, issuance will commoditize. The competitive advantage will shift away from technology and toward distribution. The winners will be the companies that already own the customer relationship and embed stablecoins into everyday financial behavior.

The first age of stablecoins focused on minting supply and onboarding users. The next chapter is about usage.

Stablecoins have reached escape velocity. The question is no longer how to create them, but how to make them indispensable.

We are moving from stablecoins being held to being used across payments, remittances, trading, foreign exchange, lending, and yield. These are behaviors people already perform every day. Stablecoins simply make them faster, cheaper, and global by default.

Stablecoins are moving from pilots to core payment infrastructure.

• Visa is settling transactions in USDC on Solana and Ethereum

• Stripe enables stablecoin payouts and is building Tempo, a payments-focused blockchain

• Shopify is integrating stablecoins at checkout

Traditional payment rails operate at banking speed. Stablecoins operate at internet speed. Settlement becomes instant, global, and always available.

Most users may never know blockchain is involved. They will simply experience payments that work better.

This shift accelerates with AI. Standards like x402 allow autonomous agents to make real-time payments for APIs, compute, data, and services. As AI moves from general-purpose tools to specialized, agentic systems, software will increasingly pay software. This enables a machine-to-machine economy that legacy rails cannot support.

Global remittances exceed $860 billion annually, yet remain one of the least efficient financial markets.

The legacy model:
Multi-day transfers during business hours, fees between 6 and 9 percent, poor FX rates, and hidden costs.

The stablecoin model:
Transfers in seconds, 24/7 availability, fees measured in cents, and better FX through mobile apps.

Even Western Union is experimenting with stablecoin rails. In many emerging markets, stablecoins are no longer optional. They are essential for immediate payments, self-custody, and protection against unreliable banks and volatile local currencies.

If payments are about speed, foreign exchange is about access.

The FX market moves $7.5 trillion per day, yet still operates with outdated constraints.

The legacy model:

• Limited to banking hours

• Settlement in two business days

• Meaningful counterparty risk

The stablecoin model:

• Markets open 24/7

• Atomic settlement

• Payment versus Payment settlement through smart contracts

To date, most stablecoins have been denominated in U.S. dollars. Over time, other currencies will move onchain as well. Institutions are already exploring blockchain-based FX settlement to eliminate multi-day delays.

Stablecoins turn FX into a real-time software primitive.

Stablecoins are becoming the liquidity layer of the tokenized economy.

As trillions of dollars of treasuries, private credit, bonds, and eventually equities move onchain, they require a settlement asset that lives on the same rails. Instant asset settlement is impossible if the cash leg still depends on legacy wires.

Stablecoins enable Delivery versus Payment, where assets and cash exchange instantly and without settlement risk. They also make these assets tradeable globally, at any time, from anywhere.

This may become the single largest driver of stablecoin demand over the next decade.

Yield may be the wedge that drives mainstream consumer adoption.

Stablecoins remove layers of intermediaries, allowing yield to flow directly to users. These products resemble the next generation of high-yield savings and cash management accounts.

In a world of persistent inflation, transparent access to yield matters. Users will increasingly choose platforms where they understand how returns are generated and can control their risk exposure.

Over time, stablecoin-based accounts may become a default consumer financial product.

Lending is the next major utility layer for stablecoins.

The first generation of onchain lending proved demand but did not scale. Loans required heavy overcollateralization and primarily served crypto-native traders.

The next phase looks different.

As stablecoins become embedded in fintech apps, neobanks, and tokenized financial markets, they unlock a more familiar use case: credit.

What changes this time is identity.

Advances in onchain identity, compliance infrastructure, and zero-knowledge proofs allow users to verify attributes without exposing sensitive data. Creditworthiness, transaction history, income signals, and jurisdictional compliance can be proven selectively and privately.

This creates a path toward undercollateralized and partially collateralized lending, where risk is priced based on verified identity and behavior rather than blunt asset overcollateralization.

Early signals are already emerging:

• Fintechs exploring stablecoin-backed credit lines

• Onchain credit markets tied to verified entities rather than anonymous wallets

• ZK-based identity systems enabling compliance without sacrificing privacy

In this model, stablecoins do not just move money. They become the foundation for global credit markets that are faster, more transparent, and more accessible than traditional banking.

The future of stablecoins will not be decided by market cycles or exchange volume. It will be decided by distribution.

Key channels include:

• Wallets like Coinbase Wallet and Phantom

• Fintech apps like Robinhood, Revolut, Cash App, and SoFi

• Digital-first banks and neobanks

• Consumer platforms across social, marketplaces, and creator tools

The strongest technology will not win.
The biggest brand will not win.

The winner will be whoever gets stablecoins into the most hands and makes them useful.

Stablecoins are not another crypto trend. They represent a rethinking of money itself.

Money should move like the internet. It should be instant, global, and accessible to anyone with a phone. It should not punish people for geography, banking access, or outdated infrastructure.

For years, financial inclusion was theoretical. Stablecoins are making it practical:

• A small business in Brazil gets paid by a European client in seconds

• A family in the Philippines keeps income previously lost to fees

• A teenager in Turkey preserves value amid currency instability

This is what happens when money becomes software.

Soon, people will not ask what chain they are using. They will simply use money that feels fast, fair, and universal. When that happens, stablecoins will no longer be viewed as a crypto innovation.

They will simply be how money works.

Thanks for reading Mixed Realities by TJ Kawamura! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe

Stablecoins have become the most successful product in crypto in 2025, not because of speculation, but because they finally work at real-world scale.

They offer something the digital world has always lacked: money designed for a global, internet-native economy.

With more than $300 billion in circulation, stablecoins now surpass nearly every other category in the industry. While USDT and USDC still dominate supply, the market is entering a new phase. For the first time, regulated financial institutions are participating at scale.

The era of accumulation is ending.
The era of utility is beginning.

The Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act marks a turning point.

It is the first U.S. federal framework to clearly define how payment stablecoins can be issued and regulated. The act establishes two formal paths:

• State-regulated trust companies can issue stablecoins

• National and state banks can issue stablecoins with Federal Reserve approval

This single change unlocked the market for traditional finance. The effects are already visible:

• JPMorgan is scaling JPM Coin to billions in daily corporate settlements

• PayPal launched PYUSD and is preparing to expand under the new framework

• BNY Mellon is supporting major issuers through tokenized cash and custody

• Visa is exploring bank-issued stablecoins across its settlement network

• Regional banks and neobanks are piloting compliant tokenized deposits

This is only the beginning.

As licensing becomes standardized, issuance will commoditize. The competitive advantage will shift away from technology and toward distribution. The winners will be the companies that already own the customer relationship and embed stablecoins into everyday financial behavior.

The first age of stablecoins focused on minting supply and onboarding users. The next chapter is about usage.

Stablecoins have reached escape velocity. The question is no longer how to create them, but how to make them indispensable.

We are moving from stablecoins being held to being used across payments, remittances, trading, foreign exchange, lending, and yield. These are behaviors people already perform every day. Stablecoins simply make them faster, cheaper, and global by default.

Stablecoins are moving from pilots to core payment infrastructure.

• Visa is settling transactions in USDC on Solana and Ethereum

• Stripe enables stablecoin payouts and is building Tempo, a payments-focused blockchain

• Shopify is integrating stablecoins at checkout

Traditional payment rails operate at banking speed. Stablecoins operate at internet speed. Settlement becomes instant, global, and always available.

Most users may never know blockchain is involved. They will simply experience payments that work better.

This shift accelerates with AI. Standards like x402 allow autonomous agents to make real-time payments for APIs, compute, data, and services. As AI moves from general-purpose tools to specialized, agentic systems, software will increasingly pay software. This enables a machine-to-machine economy that legacy rails cannot support.

Global remittances exceed $860 billion annually, yet remain one of the least efficient financial markets.

The legacy model:
Multi-day transfers during business hours, fees between 6 and 9 percent, poor FX rates, and hidden costs.

The stablecoin model:
Transfers in seconds, 24/7 availability, fees measured in cents, and better FX through mobile apps.

Even Western Union is experimenting with stablecoin rails. In many emerging markets, stablecoins are no longer optional. They are essential for immediate payments, self-custody, and protection against unreliable banks and volatile local currencies.

If payments are about speed, foreign exchange is about access.

The FX market moves $7.5 trillion per day, yet still operates with outdated constraints.

The legacy model:

• Limited to banking hours

• Settlement in two business days

• Meaningful counterparty risk

The stablecoin model:

• Markets open 24/7

• Atomic settlement

• Payment versus Payment settlement through smart contracts

To date, most stablecoins have been denominated in U.S. dollars. Over time, other currencies will move onchain as well. Institutions are already exploring blockchain-based FX settlement to eliminate multi-day delays.

Stablecoins turn FX into a real-time software primitive.

Stablecoins are becoming the liquidity layer of the tokenized economy.

As trillions of dollars of treasuries, private credit, bonds, and eventually equities move onchain, they require a settlement asset that lives on the same rails. Instant asset settlement is impossible if the cash leg still depends on legacy wires.

Stablecoins enable Delivery versus Payment, where assets and cash exchange instantly and without settlement risk. They also make these assets tradeable globally, at any time, from anywhere.

This may become the single largest driver of stablecoin demand over the next decade.

Yield may be the wedge that drives mainstream consumer adoption.

Stablecoins remove layers of intermediaries, allowing yield to flow directly to users. These products resemble the next generation of high-yield savings and cash management accounts.

In a world of persistent inflation, transparent access to yield matters. Users will increasingly choose platforms where they understand how returns are generated and can control their risk exposure.

Over time, stablecoin-based accounts may become a default consumer financial product.

Lending is the next major utility layer for stablecoins.

The first generation of onchain lending proved demand but did not scale. Loans required heavy overcollateralization and primarily served crypto-native traders.

The next phase looks different.

As stablecoins become embedded in fintech apps, neobanks, and tokenized financial markets, they unlock a more familiar use case: credit.

What changes this time is identity.

Advances in onchain identity, compliance infrastructure, and zero-knowledge proofs allow users to verify attributes without exposing sensitive data. Creditworthiness, transaction history, income signals, and jurisdictional compliance can be proven selectively and privately.

This creates a path toward undercollateralized and partially collateralized lending, where risk is priced based on verified identity and behavior rather than blunt asset overcollateralization.

Early signals are already emerging:

• Fintechs exploring stablecoin-backed credit lines

• Onchain credit markets tied to verified entities rather than anonymous wallets

• ZK-based identity systems enabling compliance without sacrificing privacy

In this model, stablecoins do not just move money. They become the foundation for global credit markets that are faster, more transparent, and more accessible than traditional banking.

The future of stablecoins will not be decided by market cycles or exchange volume. It will be decided by distribution.

Key channels include:

• Wallets like Coinbase Wallet and Phantom

• Fintech apps like Robinhood, Revolut, Cash App, and SoFi

• Digital-first banks and neobanks

• Consumer platforms across social, marketplaces, and creator tools

The strongest technology will not win.
The biggest brand will not win.

The winner will be whoever gets stablecoins into the most hands and makes them useful.

Stablecoins are not another crypto trend. They represent a rethinking of money itself.

Money should move like the internet. It should be instant, global, and accessible to anyone with a phone. It should not punish people for geography, banking access, or outdated infrastructure.

For years, financial inclusion was theoretical. Stablecoins are making it practical:

• A small business in Brazil gets paid by a European client in seconds

• A family in the Philippines keeps income previously lost to fees

• A teenager in Turkey preserves value amid currency instability

This is what happens when money becomes software.

Soon, people will not ask what chain they are using. They will simply use money that feels fast, fair, and universal. When that happens, stablecoins will no longer be viewed as a crypto innovation.

They will simply be how money works.

Thanks for reading Mixed Realities by TJ Kawamura! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe