a16z crypto Releases Report on "Global Financial New Stack: Stablecoin Edition"
a16z crypto has released an analysis report indicating that stablecoins have evolved from niche trading tools into fundamental financial pipelines, giving rise to a new "banking as a service" model that is driving the reconstruction of the financial system.
The report believes that the transition to on-chain finance has crossed a point of no return, categorizing blockchains into three types: general-purpose chains (Solana, Ethereum, and L2), payment-specific chains (Stripe Tempo), and institutional networks (Canton); the bottlenecks in the banking industry are easing, with crypto-friendly banks actively connecting on-chain and fiat systems, and competition for stablecoin issuance is shifting towards regulatory licenses.
In terms of market mechanisms, institutions and developers are accelerating the allocation of on-chain payment and credit projects due to the potential of stablecoin infrastructure. Under event-driven circumstances, funds are flowing from the traditional banking system to the new on-chain financial stack, benefiting stablecoin issuers, general-purpose chains, and crypto-friendly banks, while traditional payment intermediaries and closed banks are under pressure.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
a16z crypto previously highlighted the shift of stablecoins from speculation to payment infrastructure in its 2025 State of Crypto report. This special report continues its long-term investment focus and analyzes the pathways of RWA, payments, and on-chain finance, having publicly supported high-performance chains like Solana as a cornerstone for payments multiple times.
In terms of capital pathways, a16z is mobilizing capital towards stablecoin issuers, payment-specific chains, and crypto-friendly banks through funds and strategic resources, motivated by the opportunity window of "payment as the first act, credit as the second act," helping portfolio companies establish a leading advantage in regulatory compliance (OCC licenses) and technology stacks, while amplifying the global penetration of the dollar through stablecoins.
Similar to the early restructuring of traditional payments by PayPal and Stripe, and the acceleration of collaborations between several banks and Tether/USDC issuers in 2025, the current release of this report indicates that the stablecoin ecosystem is in a critical transformation phase from payment infrastructure to the expansion of on-chain credit markets.
Essentially, this represents a restructuring of the industry chain: stablecoins are reconstructing global finance from traditional banking intermediary stacks to open on-chain pipelines, with mechanisms that lower entry barriers through regulatory positioning competition and connections with crypto-friendly banks, forcing capital to concentrate from closed fiat systems to programmable, dollar-pegged new on-chain stacks, achieving a structural shift from centralized bank dominance to distributed financial infrastructure.