When Ethereum launched, many questioned whether blockchains had any use beyond Bitcoin. Most early use cases—ICOs, NFTs, DAOs—were crypto-related and hard for mainstream audiences to understand.
But there was one use case that came early, and many missed it as the actual killer app: stablecoins.
The GENIUS Act confirms stablecoins' status as the de facto "digital dollar" - already actively replacing weak currencies in emerging markets, banking the unbanked, and solving remittance inefficiencies.
The numbers are insane:
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In 6 years, stablecoins grew from $6 billion to $270 billion—a 45x increase. The entire stablecoin market is now larger than the GDP of Finland.
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Tether ($98 billion) and Circle ($22 billion) combined hold $120 billion in US Treasury securities, making them the 18th largest holder of American government debt—ahead of Belgium, Taiwan, and most sovereign nations. tether.io
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Tether processes over $100 billion in daily transfers on some days, while the entire stablecoin ecosystem moves $27.6 trillion annually—more than Visa and Mastercard combined. cryptoslate.com
With 30 million active users, adoption is accelerating, not slowing. Monthly volumes hit $4.6 trillion in H1 2025 (43% month-over-month growth in some segments), suggesting we're still in the early adoption phase of what could become the dominant global payment infrastructure within a decade. coindesk.com
The GENIUS Act makes stablecoins a national strategic asset and opens a new era—building a compelling story for the underlying blockchain infrastructure that has grown significantly in recent years.
As always, we'll focus on insights that are consequential and actionable for digital asset investors.
The GENIUS Act
The GENIUS Act, passed by the Senate 68-30 in June 2025 and signed in July, marks the first time the US government has explicitly embraced private digital currencies as tools of economic statecraft. cnbc.com
We will use stablecoins to keep the US Dollar the dominant reserve currency.
—Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent atlanticcouncil.org
This represents a dramatic shift from regulation to weaponization.
The Act requires USD-pegged stablecoins to hold 100% reserves in US Treasury Bills under 93 days maturity, effectively forcing global stablecoin issuers to become massive buyers of American government debt while making non-USD stablecoins economically unviable at scale. axios.com
The true genius of the act isn't just domestic regulation—it's about extending American monetary influence to every smartphone on the planet, creating digital dollar demand in countries that might otherwise seek alternatives.
Geography of Stablecoins
The most important insight for understanding the stablecoin rise is geography. North America accounts for only 20-25% of transaction volume, while Europe contributes merely 10-15%. The true drivers are emerging markets.
| Share of Global Volume (%) | Adoption Rate (%) | Key Drivers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latin America | 25-30% | 8-12% | Currency instability, remittances |
| Asia | 30-35% | 6-9% | Cross-border trade, payments |
| Africa | 15-20% | 9-12% | Financial inclusion, remittances |
| North America | 20-25% | 3-5% | Institutional use, DeFi |
| Europe | 10-15% | 1-2% | Trading, regulatory compliance |
| Asia-Pacific | 8-12% | 4-6% | Emerging adoption |
| Middle East | 3-5% | 2-4% | Oil trade, sanctions avoidance |
Note: Percentages are estimates based on available data. Some regional overlap exists between Asia and Asia-Pacific classifications.
The difference in use cases tells the story:
North America: Institutional settlements, DeFi, and corporate treasury
Europe: Payment compliance and cautious regulatory experiments
Emerging markets (Latin America, Africa, Asia): Solving real-world problems:
- Cross-border payments
- Remittances
- Currency stability
There's an inverse relationship between traditional financial infrastructure and stablecoin adoption—regions with weaker banking systems show higher usage rates.
In Argentina, 61.8% of all transactions now involve stablecoins, directly correlated with 143% peso inflation. Turkey shows 50% population crypto ownership with the highest global stablecoin adoption at 4.3% of GDP, while Nigeria's 26 million stablecoin users (12% of population) bypass currency controls entirely. chainalysis.com
Europe is spectacularly missing this revolution. Despite representing 48% of global cryptocurrency volume, only 0.2% of stablecoin supply is held by Europeans, suggesting their 10-15% participation in transaction volume is primarily trading, not adoption. chainalysis.com
The Stealthy Digital Dollar
Stablecoins deserve a narrative shift. The story of stablecoins competing with or endangering government currencies is dead—or is it?
The reality: 98% of stablecoins are USD-backed, with issuers already the 18th largest holder of US debt. However, for countries with weak currencies, these digital dollars become accessible alternatives, leading to digital dollarization of small economies.
Stablecoins are extending American financial hegemony in ways the Pentagon never imagined.
The Europe Problem
Meanwhile, the EU continues to be a bureaucratic failure:
- MiCA regulation prioritizes CBDCs over private innovation
- Major exchanges delisting Tether for EU users by March 2025
- Digital euro development crawling while stablecoin adoption accelerates
While Europe builds the financial equivalent of the Maginot Line, spending over $1.1 billion on the CBDC project, the battle has already moved to mobile phones, where the US weaponizes stablecoins to efficiently dollarize emerging markets—all financed by the private sector. ledgerinsights.com
The GENIUS Portfolio
Every financial revolution creates millionaires—but they're usually selling picks and shovels.
