We are going through a stablecoin boom. The market cap is about to hit $300 billion, and Citi predicts that by 2030 it’ll be at $1.9 trillion in the base scenario or even $4 trillion in the bull case. Where is this stablecoin payments rush coming from? Let’s find out. Here are the strongest stablecoin use cases.
Regardless of what you think about cryptocurrency, people treat it like an investment, not a mechanism for daily payments. And there are several reasons for that.
Cryptocurrencies have a major flaw – they are volatile. Only within the last year, bitcoin price started at $100K, fell to around $80K, and then peaked at $125K. So far bitcoin price grew in cycles that went through halving and doubling. Because of that, financial advisors still treat crypto as a high-risk investment.
There are also technical limitations that make it unfit for daily transactions. For one, bitcoin transactions are expensive. If we would all start buying our groceries with L1 bitcoin, the transaction price would skyrocket. To offset that, there are Layer 2 networks built on top of the main net and cryptocurrencies like Solana that are specifically made to handle high transaction volumes.
But even though SOL transactions cost fractions of a cent, I bet that your local coffee shop still doesn’t accept Solana. But it might accept stablecoin payments soon.
What is a stablecoin? The main benefit of stablecoin
Stablecoin is the type of crypto made specifically for daily use. Its price is pegged to a fiat currency like dollar or euro, but it can also be tied to gold and other real-world assets. The idea is that it is a crypto that people can buy at a fixed price. When they sell a stablecoin for a fiat currency, it gets burned and goes out of circulation.
Compared to traditional currency, stablecoins bring a few major advantages. They are still cryptocurrency and offer most of the technological benefits that come with it.
Mainly, they move instantly across borders, without depending on banks or payment networks. You can send a million dollars’ worth of USDT as easily as sending an email and it’ll arrive in seconds.
Thanks to smart contracts, they’re also programmable, meaning that you can build payment rules right into the token itself. Traditional currencies simply can’t do that on their own.
Another benefit is accessibility. Anyone with a wallet can hold or transfer stablecoins, no matter where they live or what bank they use. That makes them especially useful in countries with unstable currencies or strict capital controls.
So if you ask why are stablecoins important, it’s mostly because they let people move money without relying on banks or volatile crypto prices.
Stablecoin use cases: why use stablecoins?
Instead of card payments
Stablecoins offer a much cheaper payment mechanism compared to traditional cards. This applies to virtually any company that accepts payments, online or offline, small or large.
Let’s get back to your local coffee shop example. If your cup of coffee costs $5, the coffee shop only takes about $0.25-0.75 net.
It has to pay for labor, rent, and other costs. Among these other costs are credit card fees which in the US, are usually around 1-3% + a small fixed fee. Meanwhile, the entire margin of a coffee shop is only about 5-15%. This means that the card networks can eat half of all the margins from the coffee shop. And that doesn’t even include bank fees.
So what are stablecoin payments? It’s a cheap alternative to credit cards that doesn’t force people to use volatile crypto. And that’s why small businesses jump on board.
We expect a bright future of stablecoin payments with more stablecoin payments use cases in business emerging in the coming years.
In international money transfers
Wire transfer fees are fixed, no matter the amount you send. Sending $100 and $100,000 dollars can both cost $50 via SWIFT. This means that a wire transfer is essentially a regressive tax on the poorest workers: the less you send, the more the fee bites.
Meanwhile, stablecoin transfers can cost fractions of a cent. The main fee with stablecoins is the on/off ramp fees – converting fiat currency into stablecoin and back. But both are percentage based, which makes remittances much cheaper.
Including Western Union and all other remittance paths, sending $200 internationally costs 6,49% as of March 2025.
Collect yield from the reserves
Stablecoins are a win-win. They bring cheaper payments and transactions for holders, but issuers benefit just as much. When an issuer sells stablecoins for fiat, it receives liquidity that can be put to work.
In that sense, a stablecoin issuer functions much like a bank, taking deposits and managing reserves. Instead of letting the funds sit idle, issuers can invest their reserves in low-risk short-term instruments. Most stablecoin issuers go for ultrashort U.S. Treasuries. These assets are considered among the safest in the world and yield returns, typically between 4-5% annually. This is exactly the business model behind the most popular stablecoins: USDT and USDC.
The issuer gets to keep the yield, and in permitted regions can also share yield with the holders to promote their stablecoin.
Enterprises benefit most
When a company creates an internal stablecoin for treasury management, they access all the advantages above:
- Instant low-cost transfers across subsidiaries. Large companies move money inside their own walls all day. If the US parent needs to fund its EU subsidiary before payroll, they have to pay the banks. On top of that, the transfer might take a full day or more with cash being stuck between ledgers until everything clears.
- Higher margins from avoiding the card networks. This affects not just your local coffee shop, but any margin sensitive business. That’s why Walmart and Amazon are launching their own stablecoins.
- And they get to collect the yield. When the company is both the issuer and the holder of the reserves, they are in a much better position because they can control and predict liquidity much better, so they can buy treasuries with a higher percentage of the reserves.
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What types of stablecoins exist?
Fiat-collatoralized stablecoins are pegged to a regular currency like the USD or EUR. Issuers keep reserves of that currency. When users buy such stablecoins from an exchange, the fiat money gets invested into the reserves that back the stablecoin. But it doesn’t have to sit idle, issuers can also invest these into safe investments. For example, Tether issuer of USDT, keeps most of their reserves in short-term US treasuries that yield around 4-5% annually.
Asset-collateralized stablecoins are tied to a real world asset. Mostly, to gold but it also be any other asset. To keep the stablecoin price stable, it needs to be overcollateralized. Note that in many regions tablecoins have to be tied to a fiat currency. In the US, asset-backed stablecoins are launched as security tokens.
Algorithmic stablecoins are the opposite to asset-collateralized stablecoins. They aren’t backed by any asset but their value stability depends on smart-contract-based supply mechanisms. When demand for the stablecoin increases and the price rises above the peg, the algorithm issues new coins to increase supply and push the price down. When the price falls below the peg, the system buys back or burns coins to reduce supply and restore balance.
How to launch a stablecoin?
The most important part is to define your use case in as much detail as possible. Projects that skip this step can overbuild or even face legal issues later on.
Transaction frequency
Determine how often you’ll convert between cryptocurrencies and fiat. Frequent or automated conversions will require robust on/off-ramp integrations and more complex infrastructure. Occasional transactions can rely on simpler manual systems.
Also, define whether payments will be processed individually (gross) or in batches (netted). On Ethereum, for example, ERC‑4337 smart contracts allow batch transactions through Account Abstractions, which is a powerful feature that also introduces added risk.
Wallet structure
Map out how funds flow between users and company wallets. Start with client wallets, then add one or several company wallets that collect or distribute funds. Decide whether company wallets should be omnibus (shared) or segregated (individual). This choice impacts both liquidity management and compliance.
Transaction volume
Estimate expected transaction volumes early. High volumes justify custom-built blockchain infrastructure for scalability and control, while smaller projects can use white‑label platforms. Be cautious with vendors that charge per transaction or take a share of your volume, such costs can quietly eat into profit margins.
Control and access
Define who will have custody of funds: users, partners, or the company itself. Shared‑custody models can offer convenience and compliance flexibility but add operational complexity. Always choose audited technologies developed by reputable, well‑funded teams to ensure long‑term reliability.
Security measures
Plan for wallet‑level protection, especially for high‑risk or high‑value transactions. Custody providers like Fireblocks and DFNS combine tools such as MPC or multi‑signature wallets, hardware modules, address whitelisting, transaction policies, and two‑factor authentication. Security is a necessary part of your operational integrity.
Regulatory compliance
Before moving forward, analyze the legal frameworks relevant to your jurisdiction. Know your KYC and AML obligations and understand how stablecoin licensing applies to your business model. A launch requires an official license, which Aetsoft helps you obtain through its network of legal partners.
People use stablecoins for cheap cross-border money transfers. Companies launch their own stablecoins to cut card and bank transfer fees. Stablecoin issuers invest the fiat reserves into ultrashort US treasuries to generate yield.
To move into the future of stablecoin payments, businesses are increasingly exploring stablecoin integration for global payments, understanding how do stablecoin payments work, and evaluating the broader stablecoin payments future as adoption accelerates.
