Stablecoins processed $27.6 trillion in transaction volume during 2024, surpassing Visa and Mastercard combined. Once a niche crypto concept, stablecoins have evolved into critical global financial infrastructure, with 90% of financial institutions now using or planning to use them into payments, settlement, and treasury systems.

Today, enterprises from SpaceX to Stripe use stablecoin payment rails to solve real operational problems: slow settlement times, expensive cross-border transfers, unreliable banking access, and the need for globally accessible digital dollars. With the passage of the GENIUS Act in the US and MiCA in Europe, regulatory clarity has accelerated enterprise adoption.

This guide explains what stablecoins are, how they work, why enterprises are adopting them, and how your business can deploy stablecoin payment infrastructure in 2025, including the custody, compliance, and implementation steps you need.

What Are Stablecoins?

A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable price, typically by being pegged 1:1 to a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar. Unlike volatile assets like Bitcoin or Ethereum, stablecoins offer:

• Price stability: Value remains consistent, enabling reliable invoicing and settlement

• 24/7 global transferability: No banking hours or holiday restrictions

• Programmability: Smart contract automation for payments

• Frictionless cross-border settlement: Minutes instead of days

This makes them ideal for business payments, treasury management, and enterprise crypto operations.

How Stablecoins Work

Stablecoins maintain price stability through reserve backing:

• For each stablecoin issued, the issuer holds equivalent-value reserve assets (cash, Treasury bills, or other liquid assets)

• When demand rises, new tokens are minted against added reserves

• When users redeem, tokens are burned and reserves released

For enterprises, this eliminates the volatility risk associated with traditional crypto payments. Stablecoin invoices retain value from issuance to settlement, ensuring predictable cash flow.

Types of Stablecoins

1. Fiat-Collateralized Stablecoins (95%+ of the market)

These are backed 1:1 by cash or cash equivalents. Examples include:

• USDT (Tether): ~$184B+ market cap, highest liquidity across 400+ platforms

• USDC (Circle): Favored by institutions for transparency, monthly reserve attestations, and regulatory compliance

Best for enterprise payments: High liquidity, global acceptance, broad infrastructure support.

2. Crypto-Collateralized Stablecoins

Example: DAI — Backed by over-collateralized crypto deposits managed by smart contracts. Suitable for DeFi operations, but complexity limits mainstream enterprise adoption.

3. Algorithmic Stablecoins

Maintain peg algorithmically rather than with reserves. After the TerraUSD collapse ($40B+ loss in 2022), institutional adoption has largely stalled. Most enterprises avoid this category.

4. Commodity-Backed Stablecoins

Example:

• PAXG (gold-backed): Useful for diversification and on-chain settlement of commodity exposure, though less common for payments.

CBDCs vs Stablecoins: Key Differences for Enterprise

As central banks develop Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), enterprises often ask: should we wait for CBDCs or adopt stablecoins now?

Bottom line: CBDCs and stablecoins will likely co-exist. CBDCs may serve domestic retail payments, while stablecoins dominate cross-border B2B commerce. For enterprises needing solutions today, stablecoins are the practical choice versus waiting for countries' central banks to roll out CBDCs.

Why Stablecoins Matter for Enterprise Payments

Active stablecoin wallets grew 53% YoY, hitting 30M+ by early 2025. driven by real business use cases.

Speed

Cost

Availability

• Works outside banking hours

• No correspondent banking dependencies

• Functions in regions with limited banking infrastructure

Programmability

Automated payments via smart contracts enable:

• Escrow with automatic release

• Recurring subscriptions

• Conditional settlement (milestones, approvals)

• Supply chain payment automation

Enterprise Use Cases for Stablecoin Payments

1. Cross-Border B2B Payments

Enterprises bypass intermediaries, reducing cost and settlement risk. Such qualities are especially valuable for corridors involving LatAm, Africa, and Southeast Asia where traditional payment rails are slow and expensive.

2. Global Payroll & Contractor Payments

Remote teams receive stable digital dollars without relying on local banking rails. Platforms like Remote already support stablecoin payouts in 69+ countries.

3. Treasury Management & FX Preservation

In high-inflation markets (e.g., Argentina with 100%+ inflation), companies convert local revenue into dollar-backed stablecoins to preserve value and reduce FX exposure.

4. Merchant Payments

Stripe reports:

• Stablecoin users are 2× more likely to be net-new customers

• Stablecoin transaction volume has grown 30% MoM since early 2025

5. Emerging Market Access

SpaceX processes Starlink subscriptions in stablecoins across countries with limited banking infrastructure, enabling customer access where traditional payment rails fail.

Who Is Using Stablecoin Payments Today?

Stablecoins – digital assets pegged to fiat currency value – have exploded in usage, moving trillions of dollars annually and even rivaling traditional card networks in transaction volume. Major payment companies are taking notice: from fintech processors to card networks, industry leaders are integrating stablecoins into existing payment systems to enhance speed and global reach.

• Stripe acquired Bridge for $1.1B to enable stablecoin-linked Visa cards.

• PayPal launched PYUSD, integrating stablecoin payments into its ecosystem.

• Visa is piloting USDC merchant settlement systems.

Trend: Legacy payment networks are augmenting existing rails with stablecoins, not replacing them. This hybrid approach is accelerating enterprise adoption.

Stablecoin Regulations in 2025

Regulatory clarity is the key catalyst for institutional adoption.

United States: GENIUS Act (Signed July 2025)

The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act establishes:

• Dual supervision: Federal (OCC) or state licensing options

• Mandatory 1:1 reserve backing with liquid assets (cash, T-bills)

• Monthly reserve attestations examined by registered public accounting firms

• Annual audits required for issuers exceeding $50B

• Clarification: Payment stablecoins are not securities (exempt from SEC/CFTC oversight)

• AML/KYC requirements: Issuers must comply with Bank Secrecy Act

European Union: MiCA (Effective December 2024)

Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation provides:

• Most comprehensive global framework for stablecoins

• Requires licensing as Electronic Money Institution (EMI)

• Full reserve backing mandated

• Banking Circle issued EURI, first MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin

Asia-Pacific

• Singapore: MAS Stablecoin Regulatory Framework (August 2023) sets clear licensing requirements

• Hong Kong: Stablecoin Ordinance passed May 2025, enabling regulated issuance

Middle East

• UAE: CBUAE Payment Token Service Regulation effective August 2024

• Abu Dhabi (ADGM): Emerging as a regulated stablecoin hub with significant infrastructure investment

Stablecoin Yield: Can Enterprises Earn on Holdings?

One question enterprises frequently ask: can treasury stablecoin holdings generate yield?

Current Landscape

Under the US GENIUS Act, payment stablecoin issuers are prohibited from paying interest directly to holders. This is intentional, as regulators want to distinguish stablecoins from bank deposits and securities.

Alternative Yield Strategies

Enterprises can still generate returns via stablecoins through:

1. DeFi lending protocols

2. Tokenized Treasury products

3. Institutional yield accounts offered by some digital asset custody and wallet providers.

Enterprise Considerations

• Yield strategies introduce counterparty and smart contract risk

• Regulatory treatment varies by jurisdiction

• Most enterprises prioritize liquidity and safety over yield for operational treasury

Security & Custody for Enterprise Stablecoin Payments

Enterprises require digital asset custody and wallet infrastructure that matches traditional treasury security standards.

MPC Wallet Technology

Multi-Party Computation (MPC) has become the institutional custody standard:

• Private keys split across multiple parties: No single point of compromise

• Threshold signatures: Transactions require multiple approvals

• Granular access control: Role-based permissions and policy-based approvals

• No hardware dependency: Unlike hardware wallets, MPC scales for enterprise operations

Leading providers like Cobo offer enterprise-grade MPC custody with SOC 2 Type II compliance, support for 80+ blockchains, and flexible co-managed or self-custody options.

Hot vs Cold Storage Architecture

• Hot wallets: Support high-frequency payment flows with tightly scoped signing authority, automated policy enforcement, and real-time anomaly detection. Rate limits, behavioural heuristics, and continuous monitoring help meet supervisory expectations for safeguarding operational wallets used in day-to-day settlement.

• Cold storage: Holds core stablecoin reserves in hardware-isolated or air-gapped environments with multi-party quorum controls, tamper-evident logs, and strict segregation of duties. These controls align with global regulatory expectations around asset protection, internal governance, and prevention of single-point-of-failure risks.

A compliant stablecoin program requires an integrated custody and operations layer that governs the full asset lifecycle, from automated hot/cold rebalancing to on-chain screening, role-based approvals, reconciliation, and audit-ready reporting. This unified approach supports accountability, operational resilience, and the level of transparency regulators increasingly expect from institutions handling digital asset payments.

How to Implement Stablecoin Payments (Step-by-Step)

Step 1: Assess Payment Needs

Identify specific pain points:

• Which corridors have slow settlement or high fees?

• Where do banking access issues exist?

• What FX costs impact your operations?

• Which counterparties are already crypto-ready?

Step 2: Choose Stablecoins

For most enterprises:

• USDC: Best for compliance-sensitive operations, institutional reputation

• USDT: Best for maximum liquidity and emerging market access

Consider supporting both to maximize counterparty compatibility.

Step 3:Select Custody & Wallet Infrastructure

Evaluate providers on:

• Security architecture: MPC vs multisignature vs hardware

• Regulatory standing: Licenses, jurisdictions, compliance certifications

• Track record: Years operating, assets under custody, security incidents

• Integration capabilities: APIs, ERP connectors, existing workflow compatibility

• Blockchain support: Coverage for chains your counterparties use

Step 4 — Integrate With Existing Systems

Modern custody platforms offer APIs to integrate with:

• ERP systems — SAP, Oracle, NetSuite

• Treasury management systems — Kyriba, GTreasury

• Accounting workflows — Automated reconciliation and reporting

Step 5: Establish Compliance Framework

Define and document:

• Transaction monitoring thresholds and escalation procedures

• Counterparty onboarding and verification requirements

• Wallet address whitelisting policies

• Regulatory reporting workflows by jurisdiction

Step 6: Pilot and Scale

• Start with a specific corridor or use case

• Measure cost savings, settlement time improvements, and operational efficiency

• Expand to additional use cases based on results

The Future of Stablecoin Payments

CBDCs and Stablecoins Will Coexist

Central bank digital currencies will likely focus on domestic retail payments. Stablecoins will continue to dominate cross-border commerce and B2B settlement where speed, programmability, and global reach matter most.

Interoperability Is Improving

Cross-chain infrastructure (bridges, unified APIs) is reducing fragmentation. Enterprises will increasingly be able to transact across blockchains without managing complexity.

Institutional Adoption Will Accelerate

The combination of regulatory clarity (GENIUS Act, MiCA), major payment network integration (Visa, Mastercard, Stripe), and proven enterprise use cases points to sustained growth.

Market Projections

• Stablecoin market cap exceeded $200B in 2025

• Transaction volume on track to exceed $30T annually

• Enterprise adoption growing faster than retail

FAQ: Stablecoin Payments for Enterprises

1. Are stablecoin payments legal?

Yes. Stablecoin payments operate under regulatory frameworks in most major markets. The US (GENIUS Act), EU (MiCA), Singapore, Hong Kong, and UAE have all enacted specific legislation by 2025.

2. Which stablecoin is best for business payments?

Most enterprises choose USDC for compliance-sensitive operations or USDT for maximum liquidity. Many support both for counterparty flexibility.

3. Are stablecoin payments taxable?

Stablecoin transactions are generally taxable similar to cash transactions. Treatment varies by jurisdiction - consult tax advisors for specific guidance.

4. Do stablecoins eliminate FX risk?

USD-backed stablecoins help mitigate local currency volatility and FX conversion costs at the payment layer. However, enterprises still face FX considerations when converting to/from local currencies.

5. Are stablecoin payments safer than bank transfers?

Stablecoins remove intermediary risks and settlement delays but require institutional-grade custody and compliance controls. With proper infrastructure, they can be equally or more secure than traditional rails.