Stablecoins Are Eating Crypto

Stablecoins have been slowly building to become the largest use case in crypto. It has felt like slow progress, but things are accelerating and it feels as though we’re at the “all at once” moment. 

This past month has made that clearer than ever.

Stripe and Meta, two of the biggest tech companies on the planet, are in the stablecoin game. Transaction volume has officially surpassed Visa. And despite political headwinds, regulation is now a matter of when, not if.

The stablecoin moment is here. It was happening slowly, now it looks to be all at once.

1️⃣ Stripe’s Stablecoin Accounts Are Live in 100+ Countries

Stripe quietly launched Stablecoin Financial Accounts, enabling businesses in over 100 countries to hold, send, and receive funds in USDC or USDB (Bridge’s infrastructure stablecoin).

It’s effectively a dollar account, without a bank.

Behind the scenes, Stripe is using its acquisition Bridge to handle stablecoin custody and treasury operations. The kicker? These accounts are backed 1:1 by USD reserves, stored at BlackRock.

No ACH delays, no FX fees, no need for local banking infrastructure. Just programmable, internet-native dollars.

This is the future PayPal should have built.

2️⃣ Meta’s Stablecoin Revival: WhatsApp Payments Coming

Meta is reportedly in talks with crypto firms to reintroduce stablecoins across its platforms, including WhatsApp. 

Yes, the same Meta that Congress humiliated into shutting down Diem three years ago.

The scale is what matters. WhatsApp has over 2 billion users. If Meta pulls this off, stablecoin adoption won't trickle in, it'll flood.

3️⃣ Stablecoins Just Surpassed Visa

According to Bitwise’s Q1.25 Crypto Market Review, stablecoins processed $27.6 trillion in transaction volume in 2024 – more than Visa and Mastercard.

95% of that volume settled on Ethereum. Yes, Ethereum is now one of the most important financial rails on the planet.

Let that sink in.

4️⃣ The Developer Gold Rush: Bridge & USDB

Bridge’s USDB is quickly becoming the most developer-aligned stablecoin on the market.

Unlike traditional issuers that keep the yield from reserves, Bridge splits it - with developers and users. Devs earn rewards just for switching to USDB via API. 

• Conversions to and from USDC? Free. 
• Mints and redemptions? Global. 
• Treasury collateral? Held at BlackRock.

If stablecoins are the new dollars, Bridge is building the Stripe for programmable money.

5️⃣ The GENIUS Act Just Missed, but It’s Not Dead

Last week, the U.S. Senate failed to pass the GENIUS Act, the first serious attempt at federal stablecoin legislation.

The bill fell short in a 48–51 procedural vote, not because of a lack of support, but because of last-minute GOP changes that blindsided key crypto-friendly Democrats. 

Even some bill co-sponsors voted no, citing concerns over rushed amendments and transparency.

Still, the appetite is there. Senator Warner called stablecoins “undeniably part of the future of finance” and pledged to revise and pass the bill soon.

The GENIUS Act would:

• Create federal oversight for stablecoin issuers
• Set capital and liquidity standards
• Enforce AML compliance under the Bank Secrecy Act

Critics argue it’s too soft - giving crypto firms exactly what they lobbied for. But make no mistake: this is the U.S. choosing to regulate stablecoins onshore rather than let them grow offshore.

This vote might’ve failed, but the next one could pass as soon as this week.

✍️ The Bottom Line

Stablecoins are no longer a “crypto use case.” They are the use case.

And the institutions are showing up.

• Stripe built the wallet.
• Meta is building the interface.
• Ethereum is the backend.
• Developers are building everything else.

In 2020, stablecoins were a curiosity. In 2024, they became a multi-trillion dollar industry. Now in 2025, they're being battle-tested by the largest companies and lawmakers in the world.

The financial system is changing. Slowly. Then all at once.