Stablecoin transfers exceed $400 million per hour

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Stablecoin transfers exceed

Transaction volumes continue to grow

According to the study, the adjusted volume of transfers in stablecoins has quadrupled since the beginning of 2023. In the third quarter of 2026, it reached $891 billion. If current growth rates continue, quarterly transfer volume could rise to $1.5 trillion by the end of 2027.

Researchers also assessed the potential impact of stablecoins on the global economy. According to their estimates, moving 80% of international transactions onto blockchain infrastructure could add $155 billion to global GDP annually by accelerating settlements and reducing costs.

The number of digital dollar holders is also growing. Stablecoins are now held across 293 million unique blockchain addresses. This exceeds the combined number of American Express and Discover cardholders and is nearly twice the combined number of mobile banking users at JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citi.

However, the number of addresses cannot be directly equated with the number of cryptocurrency holders. A single individual or company may use multiple wallets.

Banks and AI agents open up new opportunities

Traditional financial institutions are also actively exploring digital assets. According to the study, seven of the ten largest U.S. banks have already tested stablecoins or tokenized bank deposits for settlements. The remaining three have announced plans to develop similar solutions.

The report's authors identify payments between AI agents as another promising area. According to McKinsey, by 2030, artificial intelligence could be involved in consumer transactions worth between $3 trillion and $5 trillion worldwide.

Stablecoins could become the payment infrastructure for such transactions. For example, one AI agent could independently pay another for completing a task, purchase one-time access to an application programming interface (API), or pay for small amounts of data and computing resources.

Unlike traditional payment systems, blockchain technology enables such micropayments without requiring subscriptions or separate billing accounts. This is particularly important for automated services that need to carry out numerous small transactions without human involvement.

Which stablecoins lead the market?

USDT, issued by Tether, remains the largest stablecoin. According to DefiLlama, as of October 20, 2026, its market capitalization stands at approximately $183 billion, accounting for more than 60% of the market. USDC, issued by Circle, ranks second with a market capitalization of around $72 billion. Together, these two assets account for nearly 85% of the stablecoin market, which is valued at approximately $301 billion. USDT is widely used for trading on cryptocurrency exchanges, while USDC is gaining traction in payments and institutional finance.

Other major stablecoins include USDS from Sky, with a market capitalization of around $10 billion, USDe from Ethena at approximately $4.8 billion, and DAI at about $4.5 billion. Unlike USDT and USDC, these assets use different mechanisms to maintain their value. USDS and DAI are linked to decentralized finance protocols, while USDe maintains its dollar peg through cryptocurrency collateral and hedging strategies.

As a reminder, we previously outlined the five most popular ways to use stablecoins.

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