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Global stablecoin transaction volume on blockchains hit $25 trillion in 2025. However, less than 1%

2026-03-16 17:32:01

Stablecoin On-Chain Volume Hit $25T in 2025—But Less Than 1% Was Real Payments

The numbers are staggering—but most of it isn't what it seems. According to China Securities Journal, global stablecoin on-chain transaction volume hit $25 trillion in 2025 after deduplication. Yet less than 1% had actual payment backgrounds. Experts point to three types of "watered-down transactions": internal transfers between wallets and protocols under the same entity; protocols splitting and moving the same funds multiple times to inflate volume; and stablecoins serving as intermediaries for speculative trading. For context, 15 top crypto payment firms processed about $132 billion in real stablecoin payments that year—a fraction of the headline number. International card networks handled around $4.5 billion.

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