Stablecoins are ‘meaningfully disrupting’ payments landscape: Coinbase

Stablecoins have emerged as crypto’s killer app, and the data shows that they still have room to run

article-image

ddRender/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share


This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.


Let me introduce crypto’s killer app: stablecoins. 

I know we just talked about stablecoins, but I wanted to, well, circle back. Duong said he’s frequently being asked by institutional investors if some of the forecasts for stablecoins (like Jeremy Allaire of Circle saying that stablecoins will hit $3 trillion by 2030) are realistic. 

“You think about the level of M2 money supply in the United States, and it’s $21 trillion. So we’re just at around 1% of that if we go to $3 trillion, that’s still only less than 15% of the entire M2 mining supply as it is so I really don’t think that’s far off. I think that the opportunity on that side of things is still huge,” Duong explained. 

Look at stablecoins go

He also thinks that Cicle’s recent acquisition of Hashnote shows its interest in yield-bearing stablecoins, given that Hashnote already has one. Institutions, at least, are very interested in the potential yield-bearing offering due to the macro environment. Basically, high rates lead to more folks sniffing around to see where they can make or save some extra money. 

Even with the Fed currently going into an easing cycle, Duong thinks that the interest will remain, backing up some of the points made by Marc Boiron of Polygon Labs last week. 

“In terms of utility, stablecoins are meaningfully disrupting the payments landscape, bringing crypto and fiat banking solutions closer together,” Duong wrote in the report.

Stablecoins really seem to be in the can’t stop, won’t stop stage of growth. 

“Behind this growth lies a simple but powerful fact: Stablecoins can make it faster and cheaper for both businesses and individuals to move money around the globe,” Coinbase wrote.

And that, dear readers, is exactly what we want from a potential killer app.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross.
  • Forward Guidance: Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin.
  • 0xResearch: Get alpha directly in your inbox — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.
  • Lightspeed: All things Solana, in your inbox, every day from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.
  • The Drop: The newsletter for crypto collectors and traders, covering games, tokens, apps, memes and more.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

monad ecosystem report graphic.png

Research

Monad's testnet launch has shown promise with 57 geographically distributed validators and over 20 live applications on day one. However, the ecosystem's true test will come with mainnet as it transitions from testing to real economic activity alongside the launch of the native gas token.

article-image

A national strategic reserve of XRP, SOL, ADA, ETH and BTC only makes sense as political theater

article-image

Altcoin season may still be a ways off, and that could be the new norm as we adjust to potential “microcycles”

article-image

PayPal’s Jose Fernandez da Ponte explained why he’s not only focused on stablecoin market caps when growing PYUSD

article-image

Base’s new FlashBlocks feature sparks a debate about scaling metrics

article-image

CME’s planned product stands to give sophisticated investors a better way to manage volatility in a growing market

article-image

Latest PCE data inched down just slightly in January, but we remain a ways off from the Fed’s 2% target