Stablecoins and payments
Stablecoin payments connect digital tokens to the currencies and accounts businesses use. Understanding the market means following the full payment: issuance, transfer, conversion and the recipient’s ability to use or redeem the funds.
Follow the economics through the payment
Our suggested starting point is a specific use case, such as paying an overseas supplier. Record who issues the asset, who holds the reserves and which firms charge for conversion, custody or payout. Then identify which party bears the cost of delays and failed transactions. That makes the economics of a payment easier to compare with the existing process.
Define the activity being measured
Stablecoin supply measures an outstanding stock; transfer volume measures activity over time. A payment-market comparison also needs a consistent treatment of trading, internal transfers and automated activity. Visa’s dashboard publishes adjusted and unadjusted measures and distinguishes payments from other uses. Read Visa’s transaction methodology.
Bank deposit systems need their own classification. In its 7 January 2025 explanation, J.P. Morgan describes Kinexys Digital Payments as a permissioned payment rail and deposit ledger that moves funds held with the bank. That description identifies a bank-deposit workflow; it should not be counted as stablecoin issuance without separate evidence. Read the dated Kinexys explanation.
Start with the research
- Money Movement 2.0: 2026 Edition [Report] — published coverage of payment networks, interoperability, institutional applications and regulation.
- Circle isn’t a stablecoin company anymore — analysis of issuer positioning.
- Stablecoin issuance is overrated, with Tony McLaughlin, Founder & CEO at Ubyx — a 51 Podcast conversation.