Several leading global banks and fintech companies are actively preparing to launch their stablecoins. Last month, Bank of America announced its intention to issue its own cryptocurrency, joining such well-known payment providers as Standard Chartered, PayPal, Revolut and Stripe, the Financial Times reports, mezha.media reports.
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What is known
Corporate interest in stablecoins is growing amid their growing recognition among regulators in different countries and the policies of US President Donald Trump.
Stablecoins, while typically used for exchanging between cryptocurrencies, are gaining popularity in emerging markets. They are becoming an alternative to local banks for payments, particularly in commodity trading, agriculture, and shipping.
These stablecoins are a form of private digital cash that effectively acts as a reserve of a sovereign currency, typically the U.S. dollar. Payments in digital coins allow businesses and consumers to instantly and cheaply access hard currency outside the banking system.
Details
There are approximately $210 billion worth of stablecoins in the world, of which approximately $142 billion was issued by the Salvadoran company Tether, and $57 billion by the American Circle, under the USDT and USDC brands, respectively.
Elon Musk's SpaceX is using them to repatriate proceeds from the sale of Starlink satellites in Argentina and Nigeria, while ScaleAI is offering its overseas contractors the chance to be paid in digital tokens.
Transaction volumes last month rose to $710 billion, up from $521 billion in the same period last year, and the number of unique stablecoin addresses grew to 35 million, up 50% over the same period, according to Visa.
- Cryptocurrency