Stablecoins Are A Big Deal, But Not Where You’d Expect, Bernstein Says
Stablecoins are becoming a significant force in financial markets, but their impact is concentrated outside of traditional payments, according to a new report by Bernstein on Wednesday.
While their market capitalization has surged to approximately $220 billion—marking a 74% increase compared to last year—their primary use case remains within crypto capital markets rather than mainstream payment systems.
What Happened: Bernstein’s analysis highlights that the vast majority of stablecoin activity is tied to crypto trading, lending applications, and decentralized finance rather than consumer payments.
“In retail domestic payments, stablecoins are a solution looking for a problem,” the report states.
Existing financial rails, such as Automated Clearing House (ACH) and real-time payments (RTP), already provide cost-effective alternatives that are underutilized.
Additionally, credit cards continue to dominate due to the value-added services they offer, including chargeback protection and fraud mitigation.
However, stablecoins are gaining traction in cross-border financial transactions, …
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