Stablecoins Drive Finance as Digital Euro Talks Advance

Stablecoins processed more than $62 trillion in on-chain transfers during 2025, but new research suggests only a small share reflected real-world payments, highlighting their growing role as financial infrastructure rather than digital cash.

Summary:

New studies challenge the view that stablecoin transaction volume primarily reflects consumer payments.
Researchers argue stablecoins are increasingly used for settlement, liquidity and trading.
The findings provide context for the ECB’s push to develop the digital euro.
The debate is shifting from transaction volume to the role digital money should play in the financial system.

Only About 7% of Stablecoin Activity Reflects Real-Economy Payments

Headline blockchain data suggests stablecoins have become one of the world’s largest payment networks, with more than $62 trillion in annual transfer volume recorded during 2025. However, researchers say those figures require considerably more context.

According to a joint study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Allium, only $350 billion to $550 billion in adjusted annual volume – roughly 7% of total stablecoin activity – represented observable payments for goods and services.

allium research data for stablecoins

To isolate genuine economic transactions, the researchers excluded internal exchange transfers, routing activity, bot-generated transactions and other blockchain movements that do not represent commercial payments.

What makes up the remaining 93%?

Trading and investment activity accounted for the largest share of stablecoin usage.
Centralized exchange settlement generated a significant portion of transaction volume.
Liquidity provision, collateral management and DeFi operations created extensive on-chain transfers without involving consumer purchases.
Business-to-business payments represented the largest segment of real-economy activity, followed by peer-to-peer and merchant payments.

Although payment activity remains a relatively small portion of overall volume, the report found it is expanding rapidly, with identifiable commercial payments growing substantially from the previous year. That suggests stablecoins are gradually becoming more useful for commerce even as financial market activity continues to dominate network usage.

These findings prompt a critical question regarding the massive transaction volumes observed across public blockchains. Since stablecoins are not primarily serving as consumer payment instruments, what exactly is driving this enormous activity?

Stablecoins Are Becoming Financial Infrastructure

One of the latest working paper from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) offers part of the answer.

The study found that nearly 60% of stablecoin transfer events occur inside atomically executed transaction bundles, where multiple financial operations are completed simultaneously through smart contracts.

Instead of representing individual payments, many transfers form part of larger transactions involving:

Token swaps
Collateral adjustments
Lending and borrowing
Liquidity provisioning
On-chain settlement

Because blockchain analytics often measure transfers individually, these movements can be counted as separate payments even though they are components of a single financial operation.

The BIS argues this creates a risk of overstating stablecoins’ role in retail commerce while understating their importance as the settlement layer underpinning decentralized finance and increasingly, institutional blockchain applications.

That evolution is also being reinforced by market incentives. Centralized exchanges and DeFi protocols increasingly reward users for supplying stablecoin liquidity, encouraging their use as productive financial assets rather than simply digital dollars held for spending.

At the same time, stablecoin adoption is becoming more diverse geographically. While trading remains the primary global use case, stablecoins are increasingly essential for treasury management, inflation hedging, and cross-border payments in markets like Brazil. This shift highlights how local economic needs are driving adoption beyond mere speculation.

As stablecoins evolve into infrastructure supporting digital capital markets, the policy debate is also beginning to change.

The Digital Euro Reflects Europe’s Strategic Response

The European Central Bank views the rapid growth of private stablecoins as both a technological opportunity and a strategic challenge.

Formal negotiations on legislation governing the digital euro began this month between the European Parliament, the European Commission and EU member states, with policymakers aiming to complete the legal framework before the end of 2026.

ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone has repeatedly argued that Europe needs a sovereign digital payment system to reduce dependence on non-European payment providers and U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins, which continue to dominate global digital asset markets.

Unlike privately issued stablecoins, the proposed digital euro is designed with safeguards intended to preserve financial stability.

Current proposals include:

A holding limit of around €3,000 per individual to reduce deposit outflows from commercial banks.
No interest payments on digital euro balances to discourage large-scale migration from bank deposits.
Mandatory support by payment service providers to ensure broad accessibility.
Offline payment functionality, allowing transactions without an internet connection.

Those measures reflect the ECB’s objective of complementing – not replacing – the existing banking system while maintaining public access to central bank money in an increasingly digital economy.

Taken together, the BCG, Allium and BIS research suggests stablecoins should no longer be viewed solely through the lens of payment volumes. Increasingly, they function as the infrastructure that enables trading, settlement and liquidity across blockchain-based financial markets. At the same time, the ECB’s digital euro initiative highlights a strategic push by central banks to maintain monetary sovereignty. This project aims to secure a public alternative as privately issued digital assets continue to take on a larger role in global finance.

The information presented in this article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or trading advice. Coinspress.com does not promote or advocate for any particular investment strategy, asset, or cryptocurrency project. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile and unpredictable – always perform your own research and seek guidance from a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions.

Author

Alexander Zdravkov

Reporter at CoinsPress

Alexander Zdravkov is a market analyst and crypto journalist with interests in economics, broader financial markets and digital assets. His journey into crypto began more than four years ago, driven by a fascination with the rapid evolution of blockchain technology and the transformative potential of decentralized finance. He began analyzing market cycles and identifying emerging trends before they reach the mainstream. He holds a degree in International Relations - a background that helped shape his broader perspective on global economics, geopolitics, and the interconnected nature of modern financial markets. Whether covering the latest developments in the crypto sector or exploring broader macroeconomic themes, Alexander focuses on giving readers context rather than simply repeating headlines. During his career, he has authored more than 10,000 articles covering cryptocurrencies, traditional finance, and global market developments. His work spans everything from Bitcoin and altcoins to macroeconomic trends influencing risk assets worldwide.