Today, as the traditional financial system is unable to adapt to the digital age, the inefficiency and high cost of cross-border payments are becoming a stumbling block to the development of global business. Take the SWIFT system as an example. This interbank communication network, which was born in 1973, is still the core infrastructure for international remittances, but its original design was only to transmit transaction information rather than process funds. The overlapping intermediaries, fragmented regional payment networks, and cross-border fees averaging 1.5% to 6.3% have long put small and medium-sized enterprises and individual users under the dual pressure of high costs and days of delays. This “patched up” old system not only hinders global economic flows, but also puts regions with scarce financial resources into a vicious cycle – developing economies are further marginalized due to sharp fluctuations in their own currencies and insufficient coverage of banking services.
The rise of stablecoins provides a disruptive solution to this dilemma. As a digital currency anchored to the value of legal currency, stablecoins achieve the immediacy and transparency of capital flow through blockchain technology. For people in Argentina and Turkey who are suffering from inflation, stablecoins pegged to the US dollar at a 1:1 ratio have become a safe haven for wealth protection; in Africa and Latin America, such digital assets are widely used for savings, cross-border remittances and daily transactions to avoid the risk of government intervention. UBS Group research pointed out that users in developing markets are viewing stablecoins as an alternative to the “digital dollar”, and its application scenarios have extended from simple value storage to diversified financial services.
Small businesses and freelancers have become important beneficiaries of the stablecoin revolution. In traditional cross-border payments, if companies need to pay salaries to overseas workers, they often have to rely on complex solutions such as virtual bank accounts, while stablecoins achieve point-to-point direct connection through encrypted asset exchange channels. Taking the US dollar stablecoin USDT as an example, employers can transfer it directly to the digital wallet of the recipient, and the recipient can either keep the US dollar assets for risk hedging or convert them into their own currency immediately. This model breaks down regional and monetary barriers, allowing small and medium-sized enterprises to reach global talent resources at a lower cost. Dubai recently included USDC and EURC in the officially recognized stablecoin framework, marking the regulatory authorities’ recognition of such innovative tools.
The improvement of financial inclusion is a profound change brought about by stablecoins. According to the report of the Bank for International Settlements, more than half of the world’s approximately 1.4 billion unbanked people can obtain basic payment services through stablecoins. In areas with weak banking infrastructure, a smartphone can open a digital wallet and enjoy services that were previously limited to the privileged class, such as cross-border remittances and savings appreciation. This transformation not only alleviates the survival pressure of economically disadvantaged groups, but also spawns a wave of entrepreneurship in emerging markets – innovative formats such as African cross-border e-commerce and Southeast Asian freelance platforms are accelerating their rise due to improved payment efficiency.
At present, the market size of stablecoins has exceeded US$233 billion, and the cross-border transaction volume in 2024 will reach US$15.6 trillion, surpassing Visa’s annual processing scale. As the digitalization process of emerging markets accelerates, stablecoins are upgrading from a simple payment tool to a bridge connecting legal currency and the crypto ecosystem. Although the regulatory framework still needs to be improved, its potential in reducing transaction friction and promoting optimal resource allocation cannot be ignored. While the traditional financial system is still “patching up”, the digital native solution represented by stablecoins is writing the next generation script of the global payment network.
