Stablecoin Usage Expands Beyond Crypto Trading, Report Finds

According to Odaily, Castle Island Ventures has released a report on stablecoins, highlighting their growing usage from an on-chain perspective. The report examines metrics such as monthly active addresses, total supply, and settlement value, revealing that stablecoins are increasingly being used as a significant settlement medium. This new transaction value estimate suggests that stablecoins are competing with existing transfer networks while avoiding the overestimation issues that previously plagued on-chain data. The findings challenge the common perception that stablecoins are primarily used for speculative trading of crypto assets. Among the surveyed crypto users, 47% cited saving in USD as their primary goal for using stablecoins, 43% mentioned efficient currency conversion, and 39% indicated yield generation. While accessing crypto exchanges remains the top use case for respondents, other non-crypto economic activities are also emerging. When asked about stablecoin activities in non-crypto sectors, the most common use was as a currency substitute (69%), followed by payments for goods and services (39%) and cross-border payments (39%). It is evident that stablecoins have evolved from simple trading collateral to a versatile digital dollar tool, especially in the surveyed countries. Additionally, the vast majority (about 99%) of stablecoins are pegged to the US dollar. Discussions about stablecoin regulation in the United States must consider that many individuals and businesses in emerging markets rely on these networks for savings, cross-border payments, remittances, and corporate cash management. In nearly all surveyed countries or regions, stablecoins are increasingly becoming alternatives to dollar banking services, which are scarce in these areas. Among the surveyed countries, Nigerian users showed the highest affinity for stablecoins.