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Stablecoin usage is booming. The total value of the stablecoin market has now passed $300 billion, a major milestone in 2025.

Once a niche experiment in cryptocurrency, stablecoins have matured into vital financial tools. 

They are changing how money is sent globally and offering an alternative to traditional payment systems.

Explosive growth signals market maturation

According to a report from BenFen, a blockchain platform, the stablecoin market’s total value has grown 33% this year. It is now six times larger than in 2020. Notably, stablecoins now process more transactions each month than VISA.

Stablecoins have now outpaced Visa in monthly transaction volume.📈

Data shows that the total stablecoin supply has grown by over 33% year-to-date in 2025, and the total circulation has expanded from approximately $50 billion in 2020 to nearly $300 billion in 2025—a sixfold… pic.twitter.com/xC0QBU4oCl

— BenFen (@BenFen_Official) December 22, 2025

Analyst Altan Tutar’s year-end review supports this, which he dubbed “Spotify Wrapped 2025 for Stablecoins.” 

The findings paint a picture of a market achieving critical mass:

The continued dominance of Tether’s USDT and USDC reflected a clear market preference for established, transparent issuers. 

Together, USDT and USDC controlled about 90% of the market. This fact confirmed the importance of trust and liquidity for consumers when selecting a stablecoin.

However, this dominance was challenged by the rollout of 69 new stablecoins in 2025, including the presidential-backed USD1.

Traditional finance embraces stablecoins

The defining moment of 2025 came on July 18, when President Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law—establishing the first comprehensive federal regulatory framework for stablecoins in U.S. history. 

✅ GENIUS ACT SIGNED INTO LAW

"The GENIUS Act creates a clear and simple regulatory framework to establish & unleash the immense promise of dollar-backed stablecoins. This could be perhaps the GREATEST revolution in financial technology since the birth of the internet itself." pic.twitter.com/CH5pnznAuf

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 18, 2025

Passing with overwhelming bipartisan support (68-30 in the Senate, 308-122 in the House), the legislation requires stablecoin issuers to maintain a 1:1 reserve backing with U.S. dollars or Treasury securities. 

Compliant stablecoins were also exempt from securities regulations. This new clarity has ended much of the previous legal uncertainty. As a result, a wave of adoption followed:

Major launches:

• Klarna launched KlarnaUSD for cross-border payments and partnered with Coinbase.
• SoFi Technologies introduced SoFiUSD, issued directly by its bank.

Regulatory milestone:

• The OCC granted bank charters to crypto firms like Ripple, BitGo, and asset manager Fidelity, formally integrating them into the regulated financial system and clearing the path for bank-issued stablecoins.

By year’s end, Ripple was in advanced stages of preparing its RLUSD stablecoin for launch. Many other institutional launches were expected to follow.

According to a projection by Galaxy Research, the research arm of Galaxy Digital, stablecoins will likely process more transactions than the U.S. Automated Clearing House (ACH) system by 2026. 

If this happens, it will place stablecoins among the world’s primary payment networks, like credit cards, and position them for further growth.

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