Stablecoins: From Peer-to-Peer Tool to Global Payment Platform

In the past two years, the digital payment sector has seen surprising developments in how stablecoins are evolving. No longer just peer-to-peer payment tools between individuals, stablecoins are gradually transforming into a financial infrastructure supporting complex commercial activities. This observation is based on recent data published by Allium on stablecoin infrastructure, a detailed report with high reference value.

Growth Scale and Notable Signals

Since the beginning of 2024, the stablecoin payment industry has reached impressive milestones. The circulating supply of stablecoins has increased by over 100%, while adjusted transaction volume (excluding fake transactions and internal transfers) has surged by 317%. This figure reveals a very interesting point: demand is growing three times faster than supply.

From an economic theory perspective, this phenomenon is highly significant. When an asset is still young, supply usually outpaces demand. But as the asset matures, each holder begins to use it more, causing demand growth to surpass supply. Stablecoins are a clear example of this law.

To assess the maturity of a payment system, we look at velocity—the ratio of transaction volume to circulating supply. Over the past two years, this index has increased by 1.5 times, from 2.6 to 6.2. This means each stablecoin unit is being used more frequently, a typical sign that the payment system is beginning to operate stably rather than just as an experimental tool.

Transition from Peer-to-Peer Payments to Commercial Applications

Another key indicator is the number of transactions. While transaction volume can be influenced by large transactions, the number of transactions accurately reflects actual usage. When the growth rate of transaction count exceeds that of payment volume, it indicates that the average value per transaction is decreasing.

This phenomenon is common when a payment system moves from an experimental phase to actual operational use. The peer-to-peer nature of stablecoins—the ability to transfer money directly between two parties without intermediaries—initially was its core advantage. However, recent data shows the landscape is changing.

Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) transactions still make up the largest share, but their growth rate is the slowest among the four main payment types. Conversely, C2B (consumer-to-business) transactions increased by 131%, and B2B (business-to-business) transactions grew by 87%, both surpassing the overall market growth of 76%.

This shift is not accidental. In the early years, regular users mainly engaged in peer-to-peer payments to transfer money to friends or family, or participate in cashback programs. Similar to India’s UPI history—when the payment system launched ten years ago, individual users joined in droves to use Google Pay (then called Tez) because of the $1 cashback offer. Only when business tools, bill reporting, and specialized payment features were introduced did merchants start to participate.

A similar scenario is unfolding with stablecoins. As infrastructure matures, commercial use cases begin to take larger market share. This is clearly reflected: the C2C ratio fell below 50% in the first quarter of 2025 and has never exceeded that threshold again. The world is moving beyond the low-frequency, low-risk peer-to-peer payment trial phase into an era of regular payments for commerce.

Geographical Map: From Global to Domestic

A major surprise in Allium’s data is the geographic scope of transactions. Initially, the main hypothesis about stablecoins was that they would revolutionize cross-border remittances, allowing workers in wealthy countries to send money home faster and cheaper than services like Western Union.

However, the reality is different. Currently, about 75% of stablecoin payment transactions occur within the same country. Cross-border transaction share has decreased from 44% a year ago to 25-29%. Regionally, 84% of transactions still happen within the same geographic area.

This change indicates that stablecoins are not replacing SWIFT in international payments as many expected. Instead, they are becoming a domestic payment system—more precisely, a system comparable to ACH (Automated Clearing House).

The Race with ACH and Its Significance

ACH is a widely used automated payment system in the US and other countries. In 2025, ACH grew only 10% in B2B transactions, while stablecoins increased by 87% in the same period. Although the absolute size of stablecoins remains much smaller than ACH, this growth rate cannot be ignored.

The average value of C2B transactions has decreased from $456 to $256, indicating that users are employing stablecoins for routine payments rather than large, periodic transactions. This is a crucial signal: the payment system is penetrating daily needs of businesses.

Looking Ahead

The initial understanding of stablecoins—as primarily a cross-border peer-to-peer payment tool—is gradually being reshaped by reality. While the story of international peer-to-peer remittances still exists, it is no longer the main narrative.

Instead, what is truly notable is the rise of domestic payment applications between consumers and businesses, as well as among businesses themselves. Data from Allium only covers 2-3% of the total adjusted stablecoin transaction volume—this is just a minimal figure. Many other wallets and applications may be operating outside this analysis.

In the coming quarters, key questions are whether the C2B and B2B ratios will continue to grow, and whether the average transaction value will keep decreasing. If both trends persist even during a crypto market downturn, it will confirm that stablecoin payment infrastructure has begun to sustainably detach from speculative crypto activities. At that point, stablecoins will truly be recognized as a global payment platform, not just another peer-to-peer tool.