There’s a lot of talk about how altcoins and blockchain haven’t shown anything meaningful or useful in the past decade. While it’s up to individuals to form their own opinions, I’m personally very interested in how blockchain technology can bring value to people’s lives. Among the many aspects, stablecoins are something I’ve been particularly focused on.
For people in financially advanced countries, where swiping a card or tapping an app like Toss makes payments and transfers seamless, the utility of stablecoins might not be immediately obvious.
But in many parts of the world, where local currencies are unreliable and payment infrastructure like card networks is still lacking, stablecoins are making a real impact.
In countries like Nigeria and Argentina, where local currency instability drives a high demand for dollars, stablecoins like USDT and USDC are incredibly popular. In Africa, the remittance market using stablecoins is growing at an astonishing rate of 180% annually. Accepting USDT (interestingly, Tron-based USDT seems to dominate) has already become a daily norm in local markets.
In Argentina, where the demand for dollars is massive and the black market for currency exchange is huge, the gap between official bank rates and black market rates has fueled an enormous demand for stablecoins.
The remittance market for overseas workers using stablecoins is another area worth watching. In the Philippines, where many workers migrate abroad, stablecoins are being used to send money back home, with the market size estimated at around $36 billion.
Even card companies and payment processors are jumping on board. PayPal launched its own stablecoin, PYUSD, last year and already supports transfers and payments through its wallet. Popular apps like Venmo (often called the U.S.version of Toss),
Apple Pay, Cash App, Europe’s leading financial app Revolut, and South America’s Nubank have all integrated stablecoin transfers and payments. In the U.S., a company called Bridge, which provides B2B stablecoin settlement and dollar gateway services, was acquired by Stripe for $1.2 billion.
Visa is working on using USDC as a settlement method, while FIS Worldpay also supports stablecoin settlements. Mastercard is running a pilot program with banks in the APAC region for USDC-based international remittances.
Visa’s partner, Crypto.com, settles Visa card transaction proceeds in Australia using USDC. These efforts reduce the need for currency conversion and significantly cut fees.
And of course, the heart of stablecoins lies in Ethereum. While stablecoins have now spread across multiple blockchains, they fundamentally rely on a robust, decentralized trust environment like the one Ethereum provides.
People keep saying blockchain hasn’t delivered anything tangible, but the reality is that overseas, countless individuals are using it, and a growing number of businesses are emerging around it. What we see in front of us isn’t the whole picture. Some might argue these use cases are insignificant, but I don’t see it that way. I’d love for us to take this opportunity to explore and think together about how these developments are shaping the world.
