Express
a16z: Stablecoins Key to Onboarding Billion Crypto Users
Summary: A recent a16z crypto analysis highlights stablecoins as the "first credible opportunity to onboard a billion people into crypto," driven by their massive growth and evolving utility. Stablecoins have achieved an astounding $33 trillion in transaction volume over the past year, consistently hitting new highs and now rivaling major global payment networks. Their significant impact ...
A recent a16z crypto analysis highlights stablecoins as the "first credible opportunity to onboard a billion people into crypto," driven by their massive growth and evolving utility.
Stablecoins have achieved an astounding $33 trillion in transaction volume over the past year, consistently hitting new highs and now rivaling major global payment networks. Their significant impact extends to traditional finance, with stablecoins holding $128 billion in U.S. Treasuries, making them a top 20 U.S. debt holder. Citi Bank projects this could soar to $3.7 trillion by 2030.
Over 1% of the total U.S. dollar supply is now tokenized. While USDC and Tether dominate issuance on Ethereum and Tron, significant growth is also seen on Solana, Arbitrum, and Base.
Crucially, stablecoin activity shows no correlation with broader crypto trading volume, signaling genuine organic use and strong product-market fit beyond speculation. This is largely due to advancements in blockchain infrastructure, like high-throughput Layer 1s and Layer 2s, enabling stablecoins to offer dollar transfers in less than one second for under one cent, a highly efficient payment solution.
