Crypto: Stablecoins could reach $1.5 quadrillion by 2035 according to Chainalysis

Are stablecoins about to shake up the global financial order? An industry projection puts forward a dizzying figure: up to $1.5 quadrillion in volume by 2035. Long seen as tools of the crypto market, these assets could now establish themselves as key infrastructures for international payments. This rise in power directly questions the domination of traditional networks and reveals a profound transformation of financial flows on a global scale.

An extraordinary growth trajectory for stablecoins

According to projections, stablecoin transaction volumes could reach $1.5 quadrillion by 2035, while stablecoins are already at $315 billion in the first quarter. A more moderate scenario already calls for $719 trillion, reflecting a rapid expansion of these assets.

The study precise that these flows could exceed “global volumes of cross-border payments”currently estimated at around a quadrillion dollars.

This growth is based on several clearly identified drivers:

• Growing adoption by financial institutions;
• The expansion of decentralized finance (DeFi);
• Use in emerging economies as a monetary alternative;
• Gradual integration into payment systems.

These factors are helping to reposition stablecoins as large-scale settlement instruments, well beyond their initial use in crypto trading.

Towards direct competition with traditional payment networks

Beyond volumes, analysis revealed a change in the status of stablecoins in the global financial architecture. Projections suggest that they could enter into direct competition with historic payment networks like Visa or Mastercard between 2031 and 2039. Indeed, these assets are evolving towards infrastructures capable of supporting global flows, and no longer just internal transactions within the crypto ecosystem.

This transformation is based on the characteristics specific to on-chain payments. Stablecoins enable near-instant and low-cost settlements, supporting their adoption in a variety of use cases, including international transfers and trade settlements. They are thus described as future “global payment rails”capable of competing with traditional systems.

If these projections on stablecoins come to fruition, they could reshape the balance between traditional finance and blockchain. The scale of anticipated volumes raises issues related to regulation, stability and confidence. This development paves the way for a gradual recomposition of the payments landscape, where decentralized infrastructures could occupy an increasingly central place.