In 2024, the transaction volume using stablecoins reached $15.6 trillion. Stablecoins are becoming an alternative to the global payment infrastructure, reducing the cost of cross-border transfers to as little as $0.01.
By the end of 2024, the total volume of operations with stablecoins nearly matched that of international payments giant Visa. Thanks to minimal fees, instant settlements, and the absence of intermediaries, fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies are increasingly displacing traditional financial channels in the B2B and cross-border payments space. This is according to an analytical report by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z crypto).
The document highlights the inefficiencies and high costs of the traditional financial system. For instance, in September 2024, international transfers of $200 incurred an average fee of 6.62%. Stablecoins reduce the cost of such transactions to just $0.01, making them virtually free.
The report also cites an example of B2B settlements between Mexico and Vietnam, which typically take three to seven days and require up to five intermediaries, raising the cost to $150 per $1,000 transferred. Stablecoins eliminate all intermediaries, bypassing SWIFT and other legacy systems, while enabling 24/7/365 near-instant processing.
Large businesses are already adopting stablecoins. a16z crypto refers to cases cited by the Financial Times, including SpaceX, ScaleAI, and Stripe, as examples of what the outlet called a “stablecoin gold rush.”
The report identifies two core advantages of stablecoins: their global nature and reliance on blockchain networks — open, programmable, and decentralized protocols that don’t require licenses or bank approvals. This enables the creation of a new financial infrastructure, much like how public internet protocols such as TCP/IP enabled the web. Analysts from a16z crypto describe stablecoins as becoming the “WhatsApp for money,” a simple, instant, and low-cost alternative to traditional payment systems.
Similar ideas were recently shared by Max Krupyshev, CEO of CoinsPaid, during a general meeting of AmCham Estonia members. He pointed out that while 80% of crypto transactions were in BTC in 2020, by 2024, 80% of transfers involved stablecoins. “It’s like a universal language of sending value. Just imagine the dollar bill, which you can just mail to everyone in the world,” Max explained.
The report also notes growing global interest in stablecoin regulation, especially in the U.S., where legislative efforts kicked off in 2025. The adoption of such regulation could become a catalyst for mainstream stablecoin integration into the traditional economy.
