Since the United States first introduced regulatory legislation on stablecoins in July this year, the speed at which consumers and businesses use stablecoins (digital tokens anchored to the U.S. dollar) for actual purchases and payments has accelerated significantly. A report from blockchain data provider Artemis shows that the amount used for goods, services and transfers through stablecoins exceeded US$10 billion in August, compared with US$6 billion in February this year, more than doubling from August 2024.
Artemis researchers pointed out that at this growth rate, the full-year stablecoin payment volume is expected to reach $122 billion.
This growth is aided by the Genius Act, signed by President Donald Trump on July 18, which establishes a federal regulatory regime for stablecoin issuers and requires them to reserve stablecoins in highly liquid assets such as Treasury bills.
Although stablecoin payments are growing rapidly, they are still a tiny share compared to traditional payment systems. Even at a rate of US$122 billion per year, stablecoin payment volume still accounts for a small proportion of the traditional payment system. However, this trend has stablecoin proponents optimistic about future developments.
Andrew Van Aken, a data scientist at Artemis, said: “If you look at the changes in stablecoin supply under a certain trend, you will find that after the passage of the ‘Genius Act’, this trend has an inflection point of acceleration. We are convinced that (the new bill) has had a positive impact.”
Business-to-business (B2B) transfers account for the largest share of all stablecoin payments, reaching $6.4 billion per month, accounting for almost two-thirds of the total, and a 113% increase from February. This is the first time that business payments have exceeded the $160 million/month level of peer-to-peer consumer transactions. It is said that companies using stablecoins have been able to bypass the lengthy payment processes in the traditional international banking system. Van Aken noted that many businesses are tired of "the layers of tedious processes involved in making bank transfers."
Van Aken also revealed that the average single payment amount made by enterprises using stablecoins is as high as 250,000 US dollars, and capital efficiency is the most critical in large payment scenarios. In addition, traditional banks have also noticed this change. For example, bank-controlled consumer payment service Zelle announced that it will expand its international operations and plans to rely on stablecoins to enable cross-border fund flows.
He also added that the additional advantages of stablecoins, which allow users to earn income and speed up capital circulation, will encourage more users to adopt this tool. "If stablecoins can prove themselves to be better currencies, it will only further accelerate people's trust in them and promote continued growth." Van Aken said.