Adjusted stablecoin volume climbed to $1.79 trillion in June, setting a new high on Visa’s Allium-powered dashboard. At the same time, Binance Research said stablecoins represented about 11% of total crypto perpetual futures trading volume in the first five months of 2026. Their footprint is getting larger across trading, collateral, and payments.
Stablecoins gain ground in perpetual futures tied to traditional finance
The report said stablecoins have become the main payment and collateral instrument in perpetual futures connected to traditional financial assets. Perpetual contracts do not expire, and they remain one of the most common derivatives structures in crypto markets. In recent months, that format has appeared more often in tokenized products linked to stocks, indices, and similar conventional assets.
Binance Research said perpetual futures tied to traditional finance and settled in stablecoins grew quickly in early 2026, taking a notable share of the broader crypto derivatives market. The figure highlighted in the report was clear: these instruments accounted for roughly 11% of all crypto perpetual futures trading volume during the first five months of the year.
Portfolio behavior shifts as users hold stablecoins for longer
The research also pointed to a change in how investors treat stablecoins. They are no longer used only as short-term trading tools. According to Binance survey data, 30% of users now keep more than half of their portfolio in stablecoins, compared with just 4% in 2020. That marks a sharp change in positioning over a six-year span.
Market-wide numbers moved in the same direction. DefiLlama put global stablecoin market capitalization at about $311 billion, up from $254 billion a year earlier. Trading activity rose as well. Visa’s stablecoin dashboard, powered by Allium, recorded an adjusted volume of $1.79 trillion in June, above the previous record posted in February.
Latin America records a sharp jump in transfer activity
Cross-border payments were another major area of growth, with Latin America standing out. Binance data showed the share of users in the region sending stablecoins increased from 17% in 2025 to 38% in 2026. That change happened within 12 months.
The report linked the rise to demand for faster and lower-cost international transfers. Data from Mexican crypto exchange Bitso pointed in the same direction. In 2025, dollar-pegged stablecoins made up 40% of crypto purchases on its platform, while Bitcoin accounted for 18%. Together, those figures show how stablecoins are gaining traction in real payment flows rather than only inside trading venues.
Payment firms launch new blockchain-based remittance products
The expansion has also created room for issuers and payment companies. In May, former Bybit executive Claudia Wang estimated that remittance corridors outside the US-Mexico route alone represented a $112 billion opportunity for stablecoin issuers.
Established money transfer firms have started to react. Western Union enabled USDPT stablecoin transfers on the Solana network for cross-border remittances in May. One month later, MoneyGram launched MGUSD on Stellar and broadened blockchain-based international payments through its consumer app.