Chainalysis Says Stablecoin Volumes Could Top $1 Quadrillion by 2035

Stablecoins maintain a steady value by pegging themselves to assets such as the U.S. dollar. Their use is gradually expanding beyond cryptocurrency trading into cross-border remittances and everyday payments. Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said the vast user bases and payment ecosystems of major technology companies such as Meta and DoorDash could make their formal adoption of stablecoins a key turning point for broader uptake.

Hougan recently said Meta and DoorDash have begun using stablecoins in payment pilots, indicating that technology platforms are exploring ways to cut settlement costs and improve payment efficiency. He predicted that the stablecoin market could grow to $4 trillion by 2030, with adoption by large technology companies bringing hundreds of millions of users into the market.

Stablecoins maintain a steady value through backing by assets such as the U.S. dollar and serve as important tools for cryptocurrency trading, liquidity management and cross-border payments. JPMorgan said higher transaction volumes do not mean an equivalent amount of capital remains in stablecoins over the long term. The same token can circulate repeatedly, allowing monetary velocity to decouple transaction value from total market capitalization. Retail payments have also yet to become a core source of demand.

JPMorgan's latest analysis forecasts that the global stablecoin market will grow to between $500 billion and $600 billion by 2028, although market capitalization will rise more slowly than transaction volumes. Analysts said the recent surge in volume remains driven mainly by crypto-market trading rather than everyday spending. High velocity means a relatively small pool of stablecoins can support a large volume of transactions, so market capitalization will not expand in direct proportion to transaction activity.

Stablecoins, once viewed mainly as tools for trading crypto assets, are increasingly being used for corporate payments and settlement by financial institutions. Juniper Research said they can reduce the time and cost of traditional cross-border transfers while supporting supply-chain payments, treasury management and international settlement, making them an important area of development in global B2B payment infrastructure.

Juniper Research’s latest report forecasts that cross-border B2B stablecoin payments will reach $5 trillion by 2035 and account for 85% of the value of all stablecoin transactions. The projection signals a shift in the market’s focus from speculative trading to institutional use, with stablecoins enabling businesses to make programmable cross-border payments and manage funds around the clock.

Stablecoins were originally used mainly for crypto trading and cross-border remittances, but they are increasingly becoming tools for corporate payments, collections and treasury settlement. Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) said the shift toward domestic business payments shows that stablecoins are becoming part of mainstream financial infrastructure, making their regulatory and market impact increasingly important.

a16z's latest report showed that adjusted stablecoin transaction volume reached $4.5 trillion in the first quarter of 2026. Domestic payments accounted for 75%, while consumer-to-business (C2B) payment volume rose 128% year on year. Asia generated about two-thirds of global volume during the period, indicating that usage has expanded from cross-border transfers to local payments.