Stablecoin Trading Volume Exceeds Visa for Two Consecutive Years, Global Financial Infrastructure Accelerates Shift
Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise, pointed out in a recent presentation that stablecoin trading volume has exceeded Visa for two consecutive years.
This data clearly indicates that the underlying infrastructure for global financial payments is rapidly shifting towards stablecoins, challenging the dominance of traditional card networks.
Stablecoins attract a large number of institutions and developers due to their 24/7 operation, low-cost cross-border settlement, and programmability, especially in the fields of DeFi, RWA, and cross-border payments. Traditional payment giants are under pressure, while compliant stablecoin issuers and Layer 1/2 networks significantly benefit.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Matt Hougan's data is based on comparisons of on-chain statistics and Visa's official financial reports, showing that the average daily trading volume of stablecoins has consistently led, with this trend expected to expand further by 2025. Mainstream stablecoins like USDT and USDC have become core vehicles for cross-border payments and DeFi liquidity in emerging markets.
In terms of capital pathways, traditional financial institutions are accelerating their stablecoin business layouts, with products like BlackRock and BUIDL forming closed loops by integrating RWA with stablecoins, while card organizations like Visa and Mastercard are responding to the impact by collaborating with crypto platforms or developing their own stablecoin solutions. The growth of stablecoins is reshaping the competitive landscape of the global payment settlement network.
Structural judgment: This essentially belongs to the reconstruction of the industrial chain. Stablecoins replace the centralized clearing systems of traditional card networks with the native advantages of blockchain, driven by instant settlement, low costs, and programmability, facilitating the migration of global capital and payment flows from traditional financial tracks to blockchain infrastructure, accelerating the financial underlying transformation of "stablecoins as the new railway."
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
Trading volume is the truth; brand reputation cannot stop underlying replacement.
Traditional payments sell networks, while stablecoins sell open protocols.
Whoever controls the next generation of financial railways will hold the ultimate pricing power of global capital flows.