Visa: Non-USD Stablecoin Volume Surges 1,600% for Payments

• Non-USD stablecoin supply hit $1.1 billion in February, a tripling of the supply seen in early 2023.
• Aggregated transfer volume for local currency stablecoins skyrocketed by over 1,600%, moving from $600 million to $10 billion in the same timeframe.
• Euro-pegged tokens dominate the sector, accounting for more than 80% of the market capitalization and 85% of total transfer value.

Explosive Growth in Local Currency Stablecoins

A joint report titled "Beyond Dollarization" by Visa and Dune reveals a significant shift in the stablecoin landscape. While the market remains dominated by the US dollar, non-USD stablecoins are experiencing rapid expansion. Between January 2023 and February 2024, the total supply of these assets grew three times over, reaching $1.1 billion.

The surge in usage is even more pronounced than the supply growth. The volume of transfers increased from $600 million to $10 billion, representing a 1,600% increase. This activity is supported by a growing user base, with the number of unique sending addresses jumping from 6,000 to 135,000 over the period, and the total number of addresses holding these assets exceeding 1.2 million.

Operational Utility Over Speculation

Unlike their US dollar counterparts, which are frequently used to seek yield in DeFi (Decentralized Finance) protocols, local currency stablecoins appear to be serving as practical "operational money." The report highlights their primary roles in cross-border payments, remittances, B2B settlements, and FX management.

• Approximately 50% of the supply is held in unidentified wallets, likely representing a blend of individual and institutional users.
• 25% is stored on centralized exchanges.
• Only a small fraction is currently utilized in DeFi, with 7.5% in lending protocols and 2% in decentralized exchange (DEX) liquidity pools.

Excluding Circle’s EURC, which accounts for roughly 90% of the transfer volume, the researchers noted a distinct pattern: transfer activity slows down significantly during weekends. This trend suggests the assets are being integrated into traditional business cycles, such as payroll and corporate treasury settlements.

Market Composition and Future Potential

The Euro remains the clear leader in the non-dollar stablecoin market. Its share of transfer value increased from a range of 50%–70% in previous years to 85% in 2024. Other currencies are also showing presence, with the Brazilian real (BRL) accounting for 10% of supply and volume. Emerging growth is also being observed in the Singapore dollar (SGD) and Japanese yen (JPY).

Despite the triple-digit growth percentages, non-USD stablecoins still represent a tiny fraction—roughly 0.3%—of the total $310 billion stablecoin market, where USDT (60%) and USDC (25%) remain the giants. However, analysts see massive upside. S&P Global has projected that if Euro stablecoins gain even a small portion of the Euro’s global financial share, the market cap could reach between $25 billion and $1.1 trillion by 2030.