The recent buzz around stablecoins has drawn worldwide attention. From its potential in reducing cost and creating a smoother payment experience for end users to facilitating global trade, global investors are betting big on stablecoin payments.

In 2025, Stripe acquired Bridge, a stablecoin orchestration platform, for $1.1 billion to enhance its cross-border payment capabilities, while Coinbase partnered with e-commerce giant Shopify to integrate USDC payments for merchants, enabling instant settlements and lower fees. All this consolidation shows the payment industry, led by Web2 juggernauts, is entering a new era.

Payment enters new era

As global trade uncertainty continues, strengthening cross-border payments is key to instilling business confidence, especially since the current payment landscape is riddled with inefficiencies that stablecoins are uniquely positioned to address. Cross-border transactions are one of the key areas that stablecoins can uniquely address. Stablecoins challenge these issues, enabling near-instant settlement 24/7 at a fraction of the cost, directly benefiting remittance senders and international businesses.

In e-commerce, merchants struggle with high processing fees (often 2-3% per card transaction), the risk of chargebacks, and delayed settlement times that impact cash flow. Stablecoin payments offer a compelling alternative by facilitating direct, irreversible transfers from customer to merchant, which can significantly reduce processing overhead and mitigate fraud.

For example, JD.com, a leading Chinese e-commerce giant, is actively pursuing stablecoin licenses in major global markets to enable its Hong Kong dollar-pegged stablecoin, aiming to cut cross-border payment costs by 90% and process transactions in under 10 seconds, as reported by Bloomberg.

Likewise, the vast ecosystem of crypto-focused companies, including exchanges, NFT marketplaces, and DeFi protocols, utilizes stablecoins for B2C and B2B purposes. They provide the essential price stability required for trading, lending, and borrowing without forcing users to constantly convert back to fiat currencies, creating a seamless and efficient on-ramp and off-ramp within the digital asset world.

From day to day to the last mile

Despite its promise, the path to mass adoption for stablecoin payments faces significant hurdles. A major obstacle is the persistently high cost of foreign exchange; according to the World Bank’s Remittance Prices Worldwide, sending $200 incurs an average global fee of 6.35 percent.

While stablecoins themselves can be transferred cheaply, converting local fiat currency into a stablecoin and back again often reintroduces the very banking fees and spreads the technology seeks to avoid. This “last mile” problem of fiat conversion creates a costly barrier for everyday small-value transactions, negating the perceived benefits for many users.

Beyond FX, a lack of compelling day-to-day use cases remains a critical barrier. For the average consumer, existing payment methods like credit cards or digital wallets are deeply entrenched, offer sufficient speed for most needs, and come with powerful incentives like cashback and buyer protection. Convincing users to switch requires demonstrating an undeniable advantage that outweighs the hassle of acquiring and managing a new digital asset.

Despite the fact that stablecoins have been around for a while now, their march into the wallets of mainstream users is just getting started with payments. The long-lasting impacts on future global trade will become more apparent as adoption rates increase around the world.


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