全球稳定币报告2026：从概念炒作到价值落地：稳定币如何重塑银行、商家、支付服务提供商和金融科技公司的支付

From Hype to Utility:How Stablecoins Are ReshapingPayments for Banks, Merchants,PSPs, and Fintechs Contact us For inquiries on editorial opportunities please contact:Email:editor@thepaypers.com Global StablecoinsReport 2026 To subscribe to our newsletters, clickhere For general advertising information, contact:Mihaela MihailaEmail:mihaela@thepaypers.com From Hype to Utility:How Stablecoins Are ReshapingPayments for Banks, Merchants,PSPs, and Fintechs RELEASE VERSION 1.0MARCH 2026COPYRIGHT © THE PAYPERS BVDESIGN:MYRIAD DESIGNALL RIGHTS RESERVED TEL: +31 20 893 4315FAX: +31 20 658 0671MAIL:EDITOR@THEPAYPERS.COM Foreword Stablecoins are increasingly used in cross-border settlement, treasury operations,merchant payouts, and new forms of digital commerce, as well as for purchasinggoods and services. They represent one of the first blockchain-based instrumentsto demonstrate clear product-market fit in payments. Paula AlbuJunior EditorThe Paypers This is why theGlobal Stablecoins Report 2026was created – to guide readersthrough the stablecoin landscape, covering fundamentals, real-world use cases,regulation, fraud, and compliance. As stablecoins move from experimentationtoward adoption, understanding their implications has become essential for all keyplayers across the payment ecosystem. Why crypto and why at this moment? A decade ago,cryptowas an enigmatic concept. Only a handful of peopleunderstood how it worked, decrypting its complexities and imagining its potential. Today, the same word sits at the centre of financial innovation. Governmentsare regulating them, banks are piloting new initiatives, fintechs are buildinginfrastructure around them, and corporates are beginning to move real valuethrough these systems. Moreover, in 2025, we published theWeb3 Payment Acceptance Report 2025 –Key Insights for Banks, Merchants, and PSPs, which offers a broader viewof Web3 payments and digital assets. The present report, however, focusesspecifically on stablecoins as an emerging layer of global payment infrastructure. Setting the scene: stablecoins as the growth engine of Web3Stablecoins are no longer a peripheral segment of digital assets; they are becominga structural component of the evolving payments landscape. At the heart of this transition lies a specific development that is rapidly gainingground:stablecoins. Designed to combine the benefits of digital currencies withthe stability of traditional money, stablecoins are typically pegged to traditional fiatcurrencies, such as the US dollar or the euro, and backed by reserve assets.This makes them fundamentally different from unbacked crypto-assets, whosevalue tends to fluctuate significantly. Market statistics illustrate this shift clearly –total stablecoin market capitalisation isapproachingUSD 317.9 billion in 2026, with projections suggesting it could exceedUSD 2 trillion in the coming years as institutional participation accelerates.➔ Major payment networks and financial institutions are already engaging withstablecoin-linked flows, facilitating billions of dollars in crypto-related purchaseand settlement volume. For example, SG-Forge and Swift are collaborating oninitiatives that demonstrate the shift from blockchain experimentation towardindustrial deployment, showing that legal, regulatory, and technical elements canevolve together. while the global average remains above 6%. Stablecoins can reduce costs by over75% in many cases – going as low as 0.5% when paired with reliable on- and off-ramps. How stablecoins impact banks, merchants, and PSPs For banks, stablecoins introduce both strategic opportunity and structuralchallenge. They enable faster and programmable settlement layers, depositinstruments, and participation in tokenized financial ecosystems. At the sametime, they raise questions around funding models, customer deposits, and theevolving role of banks in money creation and distribution. What began as crypto-native liquidity infrastructure is rapidly moving towardmainstream financial integration. Emerging regulatory frameworks – such as the GENIUS Act in the US and MiCAin the EU are beginning to provide clarity around issuance requirements, reservebacking, governance, and compliance obligations, enabling financial institutionsto engage with more certainty. The numbers tell the story. In 2024, Triple-A launcheda global digital currencyownership reportshowing thatover 560 million people own cryptocurrencies.By 2026, that number had grown to700 million people, representing approximately8.5% of the population. The appeal of stablecoins lies in their operational efficiency: near-instant settlement,24/7 availability, lower transaction costs, and transparent on-chain traceability.These characteristics directly address long-standing frictions in global payments –particularly cross-border settlement delays, reconciliation complexity, andfragmented liquidity. For example,SG-FORGE and Swift recently reached a major milestonebycompleti