The story is no longer about experimentation. It’s about infrastructure. The scale of what’s happening in payments is staggering and its implications for financial institutions, regulators and customers are profound.
The scale of change
- $4 trillion: The estimated U.S. dollar value of all crypto assets, including stablecoins, according to CoinDesk.
- $300+ billion: Current stablecoin market capitalization (led by USDT and USDC).
- $3 trillion by 2030: Projected size of the stablecoin industry, as estimated by senior U.S. Treasury officials.
For perspective, the global value of all gold — including ETFs, jewelry and reserves — sits at roughly $17 trillion. Stablecoins are still a fraction of that market, but their exponential trajectory makes them impossible to ignore.
Meanwhile, traditional financial heavyweights are no longer standing on the sidelines. Major banks and large retailers have already piloted or announced digital token initiatives. When one Fortune 50 retailer announced its digital token plans, markets responded swiftly: Visa stock dropped more than 5% the same day. A sign that investors understand the disruptive implications of bypassing traditional payment rails.
Regulation comes into focus
2025 marked a turning point in U.S. digital asset regulation:
- The Genius Act: Recently enacted, this legislation provides a regulatory framework for stablecoins, assigning oversight primarily to the CFTC rather than the SEC.
- The Act also prohibits the federal government from issuing its own digital dollar, signaling a preference to let private innovation lead.
- The Clarity Act, currently under review in the Senate, aims to extend regulatory guidance to a broader class of digital assets and altcoins.
This early regulatory clarity is significant. It acknowledges stablecoins as a legitimate component of the financial system while creating guardrails for adoption.
What customers now expect
Digitally native generations — Millennials and Gen Z— grew up with Venmo, PayPal and peer-to-peer wallets. They now expect the same immediacy and seamlessness from their banks and credit unions. At MoneyLIVE, conversations with regional and mid-sized institutions revealed a consistent theme: customer expectations are rising faster than infrastructure can keep up.
Key demands include:
- Seamless connectivity between banks, fintech platforms, and exchanges.
- Real-time payment (RTP) functionality, whether via ACH, card rails, or blockchain.
- Digital wallets that can custody both fiat and stablecoins, enabling everyday transactions.
- Cross-border payments that reduce cost and time-to-settlement.
Consider the following scenario: Imagine a U.S. service member stationed abroad and needing to send money home urgently. With only a mobile device and an internet connection, they expect to complete the transfer instantly, without costly intermediaries or multi-day settlement times. Through their financial institution’s digital wallet, they use a stablecoin to make a real-time transfer at a fraction of the cost of a traditional wire. Moments later, they notice the option to allocate some funds into a tokenized money market product, an on-chain investment vehicle offering competitive yields.
This isn’t a distant vision. It’s the reality unfolding today as digital payments, stablecoins and embedded finance begin to converge.
What this means for financial institutions
The next leg of embedded finance will not be defined by replacing legacy systems, but by connecting to them more intelligently. APIs, digital wallets and token integration are no longer optional. They’re becoming foundational.
As J.P. Morgan has underscored this with its API initiatives: institutions don’t need to build new rails. They need to plug into the right ones. The institutions that thrive will be those that transform digital asset adoption into customer experience innovation, delivering relevance, speed and trust at every touchpoint.
Stablecoin adoption is not just another technology shift. It represents a fundamental redesign of payments infrastructure. One where digital assets, regulatory clarity and customer demand converge.
Ready to talk about what this means for you?
Valtech partners with financial institutions worldwide to turn technological disruption into opportunity. From the rise of real-time payments to the adoption of digital assets, we help our clients modernize their infrastructure, connect ecosystems and deliver experiences that meet the expectations of a digital-first generation. The future of payments is already here. Let’s build it together.
