Which stablecoins will be the most popular in payments

As of August 2025, the stablecoin market is estimated at $286 billion, with a daily trading volume of nearly $180 billion (about three times more compared to 2024). According to analytics services such as Chainalysis, the share of stablecoins in cryptocurrency transactions exceeded 65%.

More and more organizations from the traditional economy, including government ones, are considering stablecoins as part of the global payment system due to their high speed and low transaction costs.

Tether (USDT)

Tether is the largest stablecoin on the crypto market, accounting for 58% of the total sector market capitalization ($166 billion). In addition, USDT is the most demanded crypto asset on the Ethereum, Tron, Solana, and Algorand blockchains.

In many Latin American countries, such as Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil, and Colombia, USDT is the main currency for P2P payments. According to Chainalysis in 2024, 42% of all crypto transactions in Latin America were in Tether.

USDT also remains one of the most in-demand digital assets in Africa and Asia. For example, in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana, USDT is actively used for international transfers, while in Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, the stablecoin is the primary tool for paying for goods and services in online stores and marketplaces.

Analysts estimate that USDT will remain the dominant stablecoin in developing countries. Its share in payments is expected to rise to 75% in high-inflation countries. Moreover, the volume of Tether payments may reach $1.2 trillion by 2030.

However, Tether may face regulatory resistance due to new bills, especially in the EU and the US. For instance, Tether is already unavailable in the European Economic Area, as it does not comply with the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations.

USDC (USDC)

USDC is the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization. As of August 2025, USD Coin's market cap stands at $68 billion, accounting for nearly 24% of the total stablecoin market.

While USDT leads in the number and volume of transactions, USDC is ahead in partnerships with companies from the traditional economy. The USDC issuer Circle collaborates with payment giants such as Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe. In 2025, Circle also developed its payment system — Circle Payments Network (CPN).

USDC is already integrated into some national payment systems, such as PIX in Brazil and SPEI in Mexico. Circle also partners with Onafriq to pilot USDC-based settlements in 40 African countries. In the UAE and Singapore, USDC is used as a legal tool for international corporate payments.

Circle has already applied for stablecoin licenses in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Luxembourg. In August 2025, Thailand launched the TouristDigiPay pilot program, allowing tourists to convert USDC and other stablecoins into Thai baht. Circle also plans to launch JPYC, Japan's first yen-backed stablecoin.

USDC is the only primary stablecoin fully compliant with MiCA, unlike Dai (DAI) and First Digital USD (FDUSD). In Germany, France, and the Netherlands, USDC has been integrated into banking platforms via Stellar and Circle APIs and is used for B2B payments.

In addition, USDC is fully regulated in the US. According to Statista in 2024, 70% of all DeFi transactions in the US involved USDC. Analysts forecast that by 2027, USDC will become the primary stablecoin in traditional finance (TradFi).

Experts also predict that USDC will be part of multilateral CBDC platforms, with annual USD Coin payments reaching $400 billion by 2028. Many CBDC launch platforms are oriented toward Circle's technology, which has become the standard for digital payments in the crypto industry.

USDC is likely to become an essential part of traditional financial infrastructure. However, in developing countries, Tether will still have the upper hand due to higher liquidity.

Dai (DAI)

The stablecoin Dai significantly lags behind USDT and USDC in terms of integration into traditional financial systems, but remains one of the key assets in the DeFi market.

This stablecoin is most in demand in Europe and North America: according to analysts, 80% of all DAI is used in DeFi protocols such as Aave and Compound in these regions.

DAI is also being tested for paying freelancers and IT companies in Switzerland and Portugal.

DAI is unlikely to ever compete with Tether and USDC in the TradFi segment due to its decentralized nature, but will retain its role as one of the leading assets of the growing DeFi economy.

DAI ranks among the top four stablecoins by market capitalization, which, as of August 2025, stands at $5.3 billion.

According to various forecasts, DAI will be used primarily in DeFi and niche segments, and its share of total payments in 2027 will be less than 2%.

However, with growing trust in the RWA (real-world assets on blockchain) sector, DAI's share of stablecoin payments may reach 5–7% over the next two years.

Stablecoin prospects

According to McKinsey, by 2030, 30% of GDP will come from the digital sector. The dominant positions will remain with leading stablecoins such as USDT, USDC, and DAI.

Experts believe the situation will be as follows:

• USDT will remain the leader during crises;
• USDC will retain its leading role under regulatory stability;
• DAI will dominate in decentralized ecosystems.

Other well-known stablecoins, such as Ethena USDe (USDe), FDUSD, World Liberty Financial USD (USD1), and PayPal USD (PYUSD), will likely remain niche stablecoins used in specific small financial ecosystems.

Circle and Tether will also face competition from another crypto industry giant — Ripple. The XRP Ledger (XRPL) blockchain is already being tested for the launch of "local" stablecoins, such as USDB in Brazil and JPM Coin from JPMorgan.

With the emergence of CBDCs, stablecoin dominance may decline. For example, BRICS plans to develop its payment platform and launch a unified digital currency for international settlements among member states. BRICS includes countries such as Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, the UAE, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Indonesia.