Annual Stablecoin Transaction Volume Hits $46T as Institutional Adoption Grows

The cryptocurrency market in 2025 is experiencing notable changes. Stablecoins are now a major element of mainstream financial systems. Data from a16z shows that yearly stablecoin transactions have hit $46 trillion, underscoring both the progress of blockchain technology and the rising influence of institutions.

How Do Institutions Affect Stablecoin Growth?

Traditional finance companies such as BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase, Visa, and Fidelity are expanding their crypto services, offering custody, trading, and digital asset products. Fintechs like PayPal, Stripe, and Robinhood are doing the same by adding stablecoin options that make money transfers quicker and more affordable without using banks.

This growth is supported by improvements in blockchain technology. Some networks now handle over 3,400 transactions per second, more than 100 times the speed in 2020. This makes stablecoins practical for payments on a global scale.

The State of Crypto report by a16z shows stablecoins processed $46 trillion in total unadjusted transactions last year, up 106% from the year before. While this mostly represents large-scale flows rather than everyday consumer payments, the figure is nearly three times Visa’s annual volume and close to the scale of the ACH system.

After adjusting for bots and inflated activity, stablecoins still facilitated $9 trillion in real transfers, an 87% increase. That is more than five times PayPal’s volume and over half of Visa’s.

Interestingly, this surge is largely unrelated to speculative crypto trading. Businesses are settling invoices, people are sending remittances, and institutions are managing liquidity more efficiently.

A New Role of Stablecoins in Finance

a16z called stablecoins a “global macroeconomic force,” and the description is hard to dispute. More than 1% of all U.S. dollars now exist as stablecoins on public blockchains. This may seem small, but it shows a major change in digital money: it is now programmable, borderless, and instantly transferable.

The total stablecoin market is around $316 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. Tether (USDT) leads with about $127 billion in U.S. Treasury bills, making it one of the largest private holders of government debt. Circle’s USDC and Ethena’s USDe come next, each serving different purposes, from institutional settlements to yield products.

Together, stablecoin issuers hold over $150 billion in Treasurys. This puts them ahead of many countries, roughly 17th among U.S. government debt holders, a footprint policymakers cannot ignore.

The impact goes beyond crypto. Each time a stablecoin replaces a wire transfer or card payment, it skips traditional systems, cutting settlement times from days to seconds and lowering costs for businesses.

The Impact of Clearer Stablecoin Regulations

The surge in stablecoin use has prompted regulatory attention. In the U.S., the GENIUS Act, recently passed by Congress, sets new reserve and reporting rules for stablecoin issuers. The law aims to prevent liquidity problems and protect consumers, two long-standing concerns for traditional investors.

The U.K. is also creating a framework, expected by late 2026, to bring stablecoins into the existing payments system. The European Union’s MiCA regulation already offers a model, focusing on transparency and cross-border use.

Experts say clear rules could encourage more institutional involvement. Big banks like Citigroup and Morgan Stanley have started or plan to expand blockchain settlement services, linking traditional and digital finance. With clearer rules, this trend is likely to grow.

What Does It Mean for Finance?

To sum up, stablecoins are increasingly becoming central to global finance. They are faster than banks, cheaper than remittance services, and increasingly trusted by institutions managing billions.

Of course, there's still potential for growth. Clearer rules and more openness on the blockchain will help maintain stability. As a16z notes, the question is no longer if stablecoins will impact the global economy, but how much.