Stablecoins are having their moment. And this time, it’s not hype.
Supply exceeds $310 billion. Monthly volumes run into the trillions. What began as a crypto workaround now looks more like financial plumbing.
In February 2025 Stripe acquired Bridge for $1.1B. A few months later, in March 2025, MoonPay acquired Iron, a German stablecoin infrastructure company, for a reported $100M+.
It was MoonPay’s second acquisition in just 60 days, following its $175M purchase of Helio, Solana’s top payments processor, now known as MoonPay Commerce.
The shift in focus was clear. This was not about trading apps. It was about rails.
“This is our Braintree moment,” said MoonPay CEO Ivan Soto-Wright, referencing PayPal’s game-changing leap into payment infrastructure.
The comparison was deliberate. PayPal’s acquisition in 2013 moved it up the stack. Stablecoins are entering a similar phase. The contest is no longer about who owns the wallet. It is about who owns the wiring.
The floodgates opened in July when President Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, creating the first federal framework for dollar-pegged stablecoins. Within days, Bank of America’s CEO confirmed the bank is exploring stablecoin issuance. JPMorgan launched JPMD on Coinbase’s Base blockchain. Deutsche Bank, Citi, Wells Fargo, Amazon, and Walmart are all reportedly making moves. Stablecoin market cap surged past $300B.
