TLDR
- Chainalysis projected stablecoin volume could reach $719 trillion by 2035.
- Visa launched USDC settlement in the US in December 2025.
- Mastercard agreed to acquire BVNK for up to $1.8 billion in March 2026.
- Stripe said stablecoin payment volume doubled to about $400 billion in 2025.
- The Federal Reserve said stablecoin market value reached $317 billion on April 6.
Stablecoins are moving deeper into global payments, even though most consumers may not notice the shift yet. The contest is no longer centered on checkout screens alone. It is now focused on settlement, liquidity, and control over payment infrastructure.
That change has drawn aggressive moves from Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe. Chainalysis said adjusted stablecoin volume reached $28 trillion in 2025. It also projected that volume could rise to $719 trillion by 2035 under organic growth.
Stablecoins move from crypto niche to payment infrastructure
For years, stablecoin payment debates focused on whether shoppers would pay merchants with crypto wallets. That view has changed as large payment firms backed new products and acquisitions. Their moves suggest stablecoins may sit behind existing payment brands, not replace them.
Visa now settles in USDC in the United States. Stripe bought Bridge, and Mastercard agreed to acquire BVNK. These actions point to a shared view that stablecoins can improve settlement and treasury activity.
The user-provided data said McKinsey and Artemis estimated actual stablecoin payments at about $390 billion a year. BCG placed the range between $350 billion and $550 billion. Those figures exclude trading activity and other non-economic flows.
At that level, stablecoins remain small next to Visa’s $17 trillion payment volume in 2025. Even so, firms see room to change settlement costs early. That is because settlement systems and consumer checkout systems run on different layers.
Visa Stripe and Mastercard target different parts of the stack
Visa has focused on settlement and issuing support. The company launched USDC settlement in the United States in December 2025. By March 25, its stablecoin settlement activity reached a $4.6 billion annualized run rate.
The company also reported more than 130 stablecoin-linked card programs across over 50 countries. Visa’s Canton Network work adds another layer to that plan. It aims to support payment, settlement, and treasury use cases for banks.
Stripe and Bridge are building around business payments and back-end tools. Stripe’s 2025 annual letter said stablecoin payment volume doubled to about $400 billion. It also said about 60% of that flow came from B2B payments.
Bridge has moved into card-linked products across 18 countries, with a wider rollout planned. The supplied report also said Bridge won conditional OCC approval for a national trust bank. That would cover custody, issuance, orchestration, and reserve management.
Mastercard has taken a corridor and commercial flow approach. In March 2026, it agreed to acquire BVNK for up to $1.8 billion. Mastercard said digital currency payment use cases had already reached at least $350 billion in 2025.
Regulation and scale may decide who controls payment economics
Regulation has become a key part of the race. The Federal Reserve said on April 8 that stablecoin market value reached $317 billion as of April 6. That was more than 50% higher than in early 2025.
The supplied report also said Congress passed the GENIUS Act in July 2025. That gave the United States a formal legal framework for stablecoins. Firms now have clearer rules for reserve management and compliance systems.
Citi’s September 2025 base case projected $1.9 trillion in stablecoin issuance by 2030. It said that level could support about $100 trillion in yearly transaction activity. Citi also projected more than $1 trillion in added demand for US Treasuries.
The near-term fight is about control points, not consumer branding. The provided analysis said “whoever owns the back-end stack rather than the checkout screen” may capture the economics. That puts orchestration, compliance, reserves, and interoperability at the center of the market.
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