The following is a guest post and opinion from Forest Bai, Co-Founder at Foresight Ventures.

Stablecoins? They’re not some fringe crypto thing anymore. Seriously, they’ve become the backbone for how the next wave of global payments will actually work.

Just look at the numbers: in the last year, the stablecoin market has exploded, literally doubling from under $150 billion to a whopping $232 billion. And get this – transaction volumes have tripled, now even surpassing the massive network that Visa has built.

Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), and PayPal’s PYUSD are still the big players when it comes to moving money around, but it’s fascinating to see tons of new stablecoins popping up. Each one seems to be aiming for a specific niche – maybe a certain region, a particular type of user, or even specific business needs.

When you combine this kind of incredible growth with all these new developments, it really hits home: stablecoins have fundamentally changed. They aren’t just a crypto niche anymore – they are basically foundational payment infrastructure now. They’re sitting right at the crossroads of regulation, cutting-edge financial tech, and how we actually use money every day.

Impending U.S. Regulation Could Be a Historic Milestone

Perhaps the most interesting thing happening right now is that Washington is finally taking stablecoin regulation seriously. The bipartisan GENIUS Act being discussed in the Senate could be a real game-changer. It’s proposing what might become the first truly balanced federal framework for this whole stablecoin sector.

What’s cool about it? It acknowledges both banks and non-banks as potential issuers, lets state-regulated companies keep doing their thing, and sets rules for full 1:1 backing and serious compliance with consumer protection laws. The goal seems to be making stablecoins safer without stifling all the cool innovation happening.

The STABLE Act, which was on the House Financial Services Committee agenda for April 2nd, is also key. It’s laser-focused on managing risks and stopping misuse by beefing up anti-money laundering stuff and increasing oversight. Taken together, these bills send a pretty clear message: the U.S. isn’t just going to watch stablecoins from the sidelines anymore.

Even Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has publicly voiced his support for stablecoin development, seeing it as a really important strategic priority. He thinks stablecoins are a way to keep the U.S. dollar at the center of the digital economy. Basically, stablecoins could let the U.S. keep its global financial influence without having to totally rebuild the entire financial system.

Enterprise Infrastructure Is Going On-chain

The latest report from Foresight Ventures really highlights how stablecoins are stepping in to fix some long-standing headaches in traditional finance. Think about cross-border payments – bank wires are still slow and expensive. Stablecoins? They settle instantly, often for just pennies. Plus, they work globally, 24/7, without needing to rely on outdated systems like SWIFT or ACH.

Businesses are starting to get seriously interested because stablecoins mean quicker access to funds, cheaper settlements, and payments that you can actually program.

Stripe buying Bridge really underscores how much major payment companies are getting on board with stablecoins. Bridge helps businesses that want to get involved with the blockchain world to issue and manage their own stablecoins. Companies like BVNK are also making it easier, automating how payments move between traditional money, crypto, and local banks, helping global businesses integrate stablecoins into their financial operations smoothly.

And then you have yield-bearing stablecoins, like Mountain’s USDM or Ethena’s USDe. These are adding a whole new dimension by offering better returns than your average savings account, and with fewer middlemen involved. If these kinds of use cases prove to be solid, they could become super appealing for both businesses and regular folks.

Consumer Payment Apps Are Adopting Stablecoins Fast

Stablecoins are making their way into the apps we use every day. PayPal, Venmo, Nubank, and Revolut are all starting to build stablecoin features right into their apps. This means people can send money around the world, make remittances, and pay businesses without even needing to know anything about blockchain wizardry.

Businesses are also catching up fast. Stripe now accepts stablecoins, and with Apple Pay and Google Pay integrations on the horizon, the last hurdles to using them for everyday purchases are falling away.

Platforms like Helio and Decaf are making it possible for businesses to get paid in stablecoins through Shopify and other online sales channels. These tools are especially vital in places where credit card networks are clunky or just don’t exist. Freelancers and gig workers are also increasingly using stablecoins to get paid directly, avoiding those annoying currency conversion fees and slow bank transfers.

Behind the scenes, you’ve got processors like MoonPay, Ramp, and Alchemy Pay handling the complicated stuff – compliance, converting back to traditional money, and doing the KYC checks. This behind-the-scenes infrastructure is absolutely essential to make using stablecoins easy and compliant as it scales up.

The Stablecoin-Native Economy Is Emerging

We’re starting to see a whole new financial system take shape. In many places, especially across Latin America and Southeast Asia, stablecoins are already outperforming traditional banks. People are actually holding onto stablecoins instead of their local currency to protect their savings. For example, between July 2023 and July 2024, a significant 47% of transactions under $10,000 were done using stablecoins, showing just how important they’ve become for everyday shopping and sending money home.

When local currencies are dealing with high inflation and losing value, people are increasingly storing their savings in stablecoins. Businesses are using them for real-time cash management, and developers are even building entire apps around stablecoins, cutting out banks altogether.

Blockchains like Solana and Tron are collectively processing a massive $77 billion in stablecoin transactions, offering speeds and fees that traditional finance just can’t compete with. New players, like Codex, are even sharing sequencer fees with stablecoin issuers to build incentives for using stablecoins right into the payment system itself.

These blockchains are being designed to be super fast, cheap, and handle huge amounts of transactions – exactly what stablecoin finance needs.

And the revenue-sharing model used by issuers like Paxos and Agora is creating network effects. Now fintech apps, payment processors, and even traditional banks have good reasons to integrate and promote stablecoins.

What Comes Next?

Looking ahead, the next stage of growth is going to be about getting stablecoins adopted everywhere and making sure regulations mature properly. We’ll likely see countries issuing their own stablecoins, and businesses will increasingly start holding yield-bearing stablecoins as part of how they manage their money.

For everyday people, using stablecoins will become seamless – often without them even really noticing it. Financial products will increasingly rely on them as the underlying plumbing instead of traditional currencies. If adoption keeps growing at the current pace, the stablecoin market could easily blow past $400 billion by next year.

2025 is going to be a critical year for the U.S. to show leadership in digital finance. With regulatory frameworks starting to take shape and the technology already here, if both the GENIUS Act and STABLE Act pass, the U.S. could be in a prime position to shape the future of global digital payments.

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