Based on the "Stablecoin Toolkit" report released by the Wharton School's Blockchain and Digital Assets Project (BDAP) in January 2026, this article provides three in-depth analyses of the stablecoin market, which has now emerged as a central hub of digital finance. [Editor's Note]
Looking to the future through five core application scenarios
The Wharton BDAP report categorizes the real-world applications of stablecoins into five main categories.
1. Trading: Still the largest use case. Over 80% of digital asset transactions use stablecoins as trading pairs, making them the lifeblood of the DeFi ecosystem.
2. Payments: This is the fastest-growing sector. It's cheaper, faster, and borderless than traditional financial networks. Annual payment volume is estimated to be between $100 billion and $300 billion by 2025. Stripe's $1.1 billion acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge is evidence of this market potential.
3. Store of Value: In countries with extremely high inflation, such as Argentina and Turkey, stablecoins are used as a means of "soft dollarization." For local residents, currencies pegged to the US dollar are safer assets than their own currencies.
4. Credit and Lending: Providing financial access to 2.5 billion financially vulnerable people worldwide through DeFi and other means.
5. Intelligent Agent Commerce: The most innovative future highlighted in the report. Programmable stablecoins are far more efficient than credit cards when AI agents autonomously conduct transactions without human intervention. Standards optimized for AI payments, such as Coinbase's "x402" protocol, are emerging.
◇ Rebuttal to Concerns about Illicit Funds
The report refutes concerns raised by some regarding money laundering and terrorist financing based on data. According to the 2025 Chainalysis report, illicit activity accounts for only 0.14% of all on-chain transactions. Considering that stablecoins account for approximately 60% of all on-chain transactions, stablecoin transactions involving illicit funds are estimated to be less than 1% of the total.
Of course, major stablecoins like Tether (USDT) have been abused for money laundering in the past, but issuers are now working with law enforcement agencies to strengthen compliance by freezing suspicious wallets and operating blacklists.
Conclusion: The evolution of money will not stop.
A Wharton BDAP report predicts that stablecoins have the potential to become the most frequently used form of currency globally within the next 10 years.
The key focus for future market observation is the "battle between traditional finance and native crypto forces." With the introduction of regulations, banks are flocking to issue stablecoins, and the competition between the credibility of traditional financial institutions and the technological agility of fintech/crypto companies will intensify.
Furthermore, while the current market is largely based on the US dollar, non-US dollar stablecoins such as the euro or the renminbi also have growth potential. The report calls on policymakers to "neither restrict stablecoins simply because they use blockchain technology, nor unconditionally encourage them simply because they are innovative," and demands a level playing field. In an era where money is evolving into programmable software, stablecoins are at the heart of it.
