“Beyond the U.S. Dollar to the Yen and Singapore Dollar”: Expanding Stablecoin Market Spurs Reshaping of Asia’s Payment Networks

Businesses seeking alternatives to settlement delays and intermediary costs
Adoption of stablecoins for commercial payments and cross-border remittances
Accelerating diversification of regional payment channels through integration with regulated finance

Stablecoins are increasingly being used for business-to-business payments and cross-border remittances. Corporate demand for shorter settlement times and lower intermediary costs is driving the expansion of the payments market. In Asia, where currencies and payment networks differ across national borders, this demand has fueled the growth of local-currency stablecoins. Efforts to reduce foreign-exchange costs by making and receiving payments directly in currencies such as the yen and Singapore dollar, combined with regulatory reforms in Singapore and Hong Kong, are bringing regional payment networks closer to fruition.

42% Surge in Estimated Stablecoin Payments in January–August This Year

According to global consultancy Alvarez & Marsal (A&M)’s “Stablecoin Payment Activity Report,” released on October 5 (all dates hereafter are local), estimated stablecoin payments totaled at least $401 billion in January–August this year, up 42% from the same period last year. Although this accounted for just 0.5% of the $85 trillion in total stablecoin transfers, growth was substantial. The report filtered out internal exchange transfers, decentralized finance (DeFi) activity and infrastructure-related transactions from data supplied by blockchain analytics firm Allium. This left $4 trillion in economically motivated transfers. The researchers then classified transactions by purpose to estimate the amount used for payments, including purchases of goods and services.

Business-to-business (B2B) transactions accounted for the largest share of payment demand. B2B payments totaled $137 billion–$153 billion, the largest category by transaction counterparty. Including payments to businesses from other types of counterparties, businesses received 58–64% of estimated total payments. By purpose, service fees led at $56 billion, followed by payroll and compensation at $43 billion, cross-border remittances at $37 billion, payments for services at $32 billion and supplier payments at $28 billion. Stablecoins thus financed routine business expenditures, from wages and external services to the settlement of supplier invoices. Consumer retail purchases totaled $19 billion, while payments whose purpose could not readily be identified amounted to $58 billion.

Expansion of Payment Demand Led by Business-to-Business Transactions

Payment inflows were distributed across both emerging economies and high-income markets. Among transactions for which the recipient country could be identified, Thailand ranked first with $10.8 billion. Türkiye followed with $7.8 billion, Indonesia with $6.3 billion and Mexico with $6.1 billion. The United States received $5.7 billion, while South Korea, Australia and Taiwan were also identified as major markets. Four of the eight leading markets listed in the report—the United States, South Korea, Australia and Taiwan—were high-income markets. A&M attributed this distribution to demand for access to dollars, alongside trade-finance and remittance needs.

Demand for international transfers was also pronounced in business-to-business payments. Allium’s analysis of transactions for which both the sending and receiving countries could be identified found that 43% of B2B payment value crossed national borders. This was the highest proportion among the payment categories analyzed, indicating that international transactions account for a substantial share of transfers between businesses. The cross-border stablecoin payments market is also expanding sharply. Cross-border stablecoin payments rose 64% last year, seven times the 9% growth recorded by conventional fiat-currency payment networks. Demand for shorter transfer times and lower intermediary costs when paying overseas counterparties is considered a key driver of adoption. Reducing settlement delays caused by transactions passing through multiple financial institutions also allows recipient businesses to access their funds sooner.

Table 1. Stablecoin Payment Volumes and Principal Sources of Demand

200% Increase in Stablecoin-Linked Card Payment Volume

Corporate payments through stablecoin-linked cards are also expanding. According to data released by Visa on October 1, business and commercial cards accounted for approximately 17% of cumulative stablecoin-linked card payment volume in fiscal 2026. The figure was calculated using Visa network data and the company’s internal card-program classifications. Visa supports more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs worldwide across consumer and business segments, with payment volume across these programs increasing approximately 200% year on year. Mark Nelsen, Visa’s global head of product for Commercial and Money Movement Solutions, said that “discussions about the use of stablecoins in business operations, including supplier payments, treasury management and cross-border transactions, are becoming increasingly active.”

The surge in stablecoin transactions attracted attention last year as a major development in global financial markets. According to a report published last year by cryptocurrency exchange CEX.IO, stablecoin transfer volume totaled $27.6 trillion in 2024. This exceeded the combined transaction volume of Visa and Mastercard that year by 7.7%. At the time, stablecoins were widely used for cryptocurrency trading and transaction settlement, while adoption by financial institutions was also increasing. Subsequently, data from Artemis Analytics cited by Bloomberg in January this year showed that total transaction volume last year rose 72% to $33 trillion. Fourth-quarter volume alone reached $11 trillion, as fund inflows and transaction growth continued through year-end.

Expansion of Local-Currency Use Alongside Demand for Dollar Access

The way people hold dollars has also changed in the process. Artemis co-founder Anthony Yim told Bloomberg that “residents of countries facing inflation and economic instability are choosing stablecoins as a means of holding dollars.” Demand stems from efforts to counter declining purchasing power in domestic currencies by holding dollar-pegged tokens in digital wallets. Research published last year by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also identified a tendency for stablecoin flows from North America to other regions to increase during periods of dollar strength. The researchers interpreted these flows as helping to meet global demand for dollars. Their analysis points to the growing use of blockchain networks to acquire and hold dollars and transfer funds when needed.

This year, growth has also accelerated in stablecoins pegged to Asian currencies, including the yen and Singapore dollar. According to an Asia-Pacific report published last month by cryptocurrency analytics firm CoinDesk Research, the market capitalization of non-U.S.-dollar stablecoins associated with the region increased approximately fivefold, from $12.8 million at the start of last year to $64.4 million in July this year. Tokens pegged to the yen, Australian dollar, Singapore dollar, Philippine peso and yuan drove the increase, broadening the options available to users seeking to hold and transact funds in their domestic currencies. The widespread adoption of mobile wallets, QR-code payments and instant transfers in local financial systems has contributed to this market expansion. Businesses and consumers already familiar with digital payments are providing a broader user base for local-currency stablecoins.

Emergence of Local-Currency Payments Along Asian Trade Networks

The growth potential of Asian-currency stablecoins is closely tied to the region’s fragmented currency and payment systems. Because businesses across the region use different currencies in trade, making and receiving payments requires foreign-exchange transactions. In particular, using the dollar as an intermediary can increase costs by requiring domestic currency to be converted into dollars and then into the counterparty’s currency. This has drawn attention to demand for direct local-currency settlement of funds moving along regional supply chains. In an IMF commentary published last month, Hoe Ee Khor, chief economist at the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), argued that deeper integration of Asian production networks and supply chains had strengthened the economic incentives to use local currencies for trade invoicing and settlement. One proposed response is to convert national currencies into digital tokens that can be exchanged directly. This could reduce the number of foreign-exchange steps involving an intermediary currency and connect transaction funds dispersed across countries on a single digital platform.

Efforts to connect different currencies and payment networks through stablecoins first took concrete form in consumer payments in Southeast Asia. A prominent example is XSGD, a Singapore-dollar-pegged token featured in a joint report by Visa and blockchain analytics firm Dune. XSGD is used to process cross-border transfers and settlement between digital wallets, cards and QR-code payment networks. For example, when a Thai traveler scans a QR code at a Singapore store using a domestic digital wallet, the funds are transferred internally through XSGD. The merchant subsequently receives payment in Singapore dollars, eliminating the need to manage the token separately. Stablecoins thus connect the two countries’ payment networks while allowing consumers to retain familiar payment methods and merchants to receive sales proceeds in local currency.

Development of Stablecoin-Based Settlement Infrastructure in Singapore and Hong Kong

Efforts to apply cross-border payments to corporate treasury management and trade finance are also taking shape. Launched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in October last year, BLOOM is an initiative to connect settlement assets dispersed across multiple currencies and financial networks. Its proposed objectives include payments in Group of Ten (G10) and Asian currencies using regulatory-compliant stablecoins and tokenized bank liabilities. Participating financial institutions have begun developing arrangements that would allow settlement assets to be transferred across different financial networks and redeemed for cash.

Hong Kong has also moved to build a Hong Kong-dollar-based digital payment network by permitting banks to issue stablecoins. In April, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) granted the first licenses to issue Hong Kong-dollar-pegged stablecoins to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture involving Standard Chartered. The plan is to draw on banks’ existing customer bases and international networks to expand applications from domestic payments to cross-border remittances and digital-asset transactions. HSBC accordingly proposed integrating stablecoins into its mobile payment service PayMe and its mobile banking app. The bank plans to support peer-to-peer transfers, merchant payments and transactions in tokenized investment products through its existing apps.