---
title: "Stablecoins Overtake Visa with $46 Trillion in Transactions"
date: 2025-10-23
author: "Barry Elad"
featured_image: "https://sqmagazine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/stablecoins-surpass-visa-with-46-trillion-payments.jpg"
categories:
  - name: "Cryptocurrency"
    url: "/crypto.md"
tags:
  - name: "News"
    url: "/tag/news.md"
---

# Stablecoins Overtake Visa with $46 Trillion in Transactions

Stablecoins have officially surpassed Visa in transaction volume, marking a pivotal shift in global finance.

## Quick Summary – TLDR:

- Stablecoins processed $46 trillion in 2025, outpacing Visa by a wide margin.
- USDT and USDC dominate the market, making up 87% of all stablecoins in circulation.
- Ethereum and Tron handle 64% of all stablecoin transactions.
- Stablecoins now make up over 1% of all U.S. dollars in circulation and hold more than $150 billion in U.S. government debt.

## What Happened?

In 2025, stablecoins crossed a major milestone with **$46 trillion in annual transaction volume**, according to the [**State of Crypto 2025** report](https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/state-of-crypto-report-2025/) from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). This marks a sharp rise in stablecoin usage, exceeding even Visa’s annual numbers, and signals that the blockchain-powered financial system is no longer just a speculative playground.

> Our latest State of Crypto report is here.  
>   
> The main theme for the year is the maturation of the crypto industry:  
>   
> • Traditional financial institutions and fintechs launched crypto products  
> • DeFi and stablecoins went mainstream  
> • Blockchains got faster and cheaper  
> • The… [pic.twitter.com/xEZoO3AX5N](https://t.co/xEZoO3AX5N)
> 
> — a16z crypto (@a16zcrypto) [October 22, 2025](https://twitter.com/a16zcrypto/status/1981024131450818602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

 ## Stablecoins Take the Lead in Global Transactions

[Stablecoins](https://sqmagazine.co.uk/stablecoin-reserves-transparency-statistics/) have emerged as more than just digital assets for trading. They have now become **core infrastructure in global financial systems**, processing **$1.25 trillion in adjusted transactions in September 2025 alone**. This figure significantly outpaces the yearly transaction volume of traditional giants like Visa and even [PayPal](https://sqmagazine.co.uk/how-many-people-work-at-paypal/).

- According to a16z, the growth in stablecoin volume is **“largely independent of broader crypto trading volumes”**, highlighting that these tokens are increasingly used for real-world financial activity.
- **USDT (Tether)** and **USDC (USD Coin)** continue to lead the market, collectively accounting for **87% of the total supply** of stablecoins, now exceeding **$300 billion**.
- Stablecoins are being used for payroll, cross-border settlements, savings, and other financial services, showing real utility beyond just crypto speculation.

## Ethereum and Tron Are the Transaction Powerhouses

As of September 2025, **Ethereum and TRON blockchains** remain the primary settlement layers for stablecoins, together handling **64% of all stablecoin transactions**.

- This concentration reflects their continued dominance in processing high transaction volumes efficiently.
- Both platforms have evolved to support stable, low-cost, and high-throughput transfers.

## Stablecoins Deepen Ties with Traditional Finance

Stablecoins now represent more than **1% of all U.S. dollars in existence**, according to the a16z report. More importantly, the institutions behind them have become **significant holders of U.S. government debt**, currently holding over **$150 billion in Treasury securities** and ranking **17th globally** among debt holders.

This growing link between blockchain-based assets and traditional finance reveals a deepening integration of the crypto economy into the broader monetary system.

## Crypto Ecosystem Matures Rapidly

The crypto sector supporting stablecoins is also scaling fast:

- **[Blockchain networks](https://sqmagazine.co.uk/blockchain-statistics/) now handle over 3,400 transactions per second**, which is more than a 100-fold increase from five years ago.
- The number of **monthly active crypto users** has surged to **between 40 and 70 million**, adding around **10 million new users** in the past year.

These stats highlight significant strides in both infrastructure and adoption, pushing crypto closer to mainstream usage.

## SQ Magazine’s Takeaway

I’ve watched stablecoins go from niche tools to **cornerstones of global finance**. Surpassing Visa is not just a stat; it’s a wake-up call. The world is shifting toward programmable money, and this change is not led by governments or banks, but by open blockchain systems. The fact that stablecoins now represent more than 1 percent of all U.S. dollars and hold massive U.S. debt proves they are no longer fringe. This is real adoption, and it’s redefining what money means in a digital world.