Stablecoins are experiencing explosive growth in corporate payment use cases. According to a joint report by Artemis and McKinsey, shared by BVNK, monthly stablecoin settlements stood at $5 billion at the start of 2024. Two years later, monthly volumes have surpassed $30 billion, pushing annualized figures above $390 billion. B2B payments now account for the lion's share of stablecoin transaction volume, far outstripping peer-to-peer transfers, cross-border remittances, card payments, and advance financing. The momentum has been particularly pronounced since mid-2024.
Why Enterprises Are Switching
Corporate finance and treasury teams are reaping operational efficiencies from stablecoins. Traditional cross-border transfers via SWIFT typically take one to five business days, incurring additional fees from intermediary correspondent banks and the complexity of multi-currency settlements. In contrast, stablecoin payments settle in seconds without intermediaries and operate 24/7, including weekends and holidays. Companies paying international suppliers eliminate foreign exchange conversion steps and correspondent banking relationships. The Artemis-McKinsey report notes a growing number of businesses are recognizing these efficiencies and increasingly integrating stablecoins into their payment operations.
Card-Based Payments Grow but Remain Smaller
While early expectations centered on stablecoin use for individual transfers and remittances, the real growth engine has emerged in the B2B arena. At the same time, card-linked stablecoin payments are also rising: Visa reported annual settlement volumes increasing from $1 billion to $3 billion. However, card payments still represent a far smaller portion compared to B2B transactions.
Beyond Payments: New Use Cases Emerge
The report identifies several emerging applications beyond payments: trading tokenized assets; serving as a store of value in high-inflation countries; and financing hardware for artificial intelligence, such as purchasing GPUs. These use cases barely appeared in statistics two years ago but now contribute supplementary volumes outside traditional payment categories.
Infrastructure Evolution and New Entrants
BVNK's summary of the Artemis-McKinsey report suggests the next wave of growth will come from new market participants rather than expansion by incumbents. Fintech firms, banks, and even some non-financial corporations are expected to launch their own stablecoin initiatives. As infrastructure matures and regulatory frameworks become clearer, the number of available stablecoins may increase, fueling fee competition and liquidity across more currencies.
A central question remains: can the existing ecosystem scale securely to meet growing transaction volumes? Past incidents involving fast-growing crypto-linked financial products have highlighted the importance of managing institutional risks. Surpassing $30 billion in monthly volume is a significant milestone, but whether infrastructure, regulation, and oversight keep pace remains an ongoing debate.