Banks and FinTech Firms Accelerate Launch of Their Own Stablecoins

Major global banks and FinTech companies are speeding up the development of their own stablecoins, aiming to capture a share of the rapidly evolving cross-border payments market, which is undergoing a transformation driven by cryptocurrencies.

According to analysts from the Financial Times, the stablecoin sector is experiencing a “gold rush,” with increasing interest from leading financial institutions. Key players entering the space include Bank of America, Stripe, PayPal, Revolut, Standard Chartered, and others.

The rising interest in stablecoins is largely due to a shift in regulatory attitudes. After years of resistance, including the ban on Meta’s Libra project, U.S. and European authorities are now working on regulatory frameworks. U.S. Congress is debating bills to establish stablecoin standards, while the European Union already introduced compliance requirements for stablecoin issuers. The U.K. is set to hold market consultations later this year.

Financial Times authors note that financial companies are expanding the use of stablecoins beyond the crypto industry:

• SpaceX uses USDT to repatriate funds from the sale of Starlink satellites in Argentina and Nigeria;
• ScaleAI offers digital token payments to its foreign employees;
• Standard Chartered announced the release of a Hong Kong dollar-pegged token within Hong Kong’s new regulatory environment.

The interest of FinTech companies in stablecoins is further confirmed by Stripe’s recent acquisition of the Bridge platform for $1.1 billion. PayPal plans to expand the use of its stablecoin PYUSD for cross-border payments by 2025. However, in the face of industry giants, new entrants will meet significant challenges. According to Visa, the transaction volume of PayPal’s stablecoin in February 2025 was around $1.4 billion, while Tether recorded $478.5 billion in transactions.

The total transaction volume with stablecoins in 2024 reached $27.6 trillion, surpassing Visa and Mastercard’s combined payment system volumes by 7.68%. Analysts predict that in the near future, stablecoins could rival credit and debit cards, with traditional banks planning to challenge Tether and Circle in the stablecoin market.