Stablecoins have become one of the most important developments in digital finance because they give companies a way to move money globally with the stability of traditional currency and the speed of modern networks. That’s why interest in stablecoin payments, settlement, and use cases for businesses keeps growing. In 2025, the global stablecoin market achieved a market capitalization of over $300 billion.

Below, we’ll discuss why stablecoins have become so important for businesses, from simplifying transfers to maintaining price stability. We’ll also explore how companies can determine where stablecoins add value.

What’s in this article?

• Why are stablecoins important?
  
• What technologies enable stablecoin use at scale?
  
• How stablecoins improve payment efficiency, liquidity management, and transaction settlement
  
• How do stablecoins maintain price stability?
  
• What constraints limit the effectiveness of stablecoins?
  
• How can businesses determine where stablecoins add value?
  
• How Stripe can help
  

Why are stablecoins important?

Stablecoins are important because they allow businesses to benefit from the efficiency of blockchain ecosystems (e.g., instant settlement, international reach, always-on availability) without experiencing the price swings that make other cryptocurrencies hard to use for everyday transactions. They run on the same blockchain infrastructure as those cryptocurrencies, but their purpose and performance are fundamentally different. Stablecoins are built to mirror the value of familiar currencies such as the US dollar and euro.

Because stablecoins are designed to keep a steady price, they’re practical for everyday commerce, treasury movements, and cross-border transfers. They’re like digital cash. They combine the speed of blockchain networks with the stability of fiat currency and let businesses make instant, global payments without taking on the volatility of traditional crypto assets.

The predictability of stablecoins means companies can integrate stablecoins into existing pricing, accounting, and financial workflows without having to hedge or constantly revalue positions. In 2024, stablecoins processed over $27 trillion in transactions, more than Visa and Mastercard combined.

What technologies enable stablecoin use at scale?

Stablecoins work at scale because of the underlying infrastructure. Here’s what powers them:

• Modern blockchain networks: Many stablecoin issuers support multiple networks so companies can choose the foundation that fits their speed, cost, and functional needs without changing the currency itself.

• Cross-chain interoperability: Bridges let stablecoins move across blockchains by locking tokens on one network and recreating them on another. This can minimize the network fragmentation that once forced businesses to commit to a single chain.

• Mainstream payment integration: Major payment networks and fintech platforms support stablecoin flows within familiar tools. Stripe, for example, lets businesses hold stablecoin balances globally and accept stablecoins at checkout with automatic conversion.

• Programmability through smart contracts: Stablecoins can interact with code, which enables automated escrow, conditional payouts tied to specific events, and instant revenue splits.

• Enterprise-grade wallets and custody: Secure, auditable wallet infrastructure gives finance teams safe ways to store and move stablecoins without managing private keys themselves. That makes on-chain operations feel much closer to traditional treasury workflows.

How stablecoins improve payment efficiency, liquidity management, and transaction settlement

Stablecoin transfers settle within minutes and usually cost pennies on the dollar, even across borders. They also move anytime (e.g., nights, weekends, holidays) and are final once they’re confirmed on the chain. This simplifies reconciliation and helps reduce the administrative burden of disputes and failed transactions.

Companies that pay contractors, suppliers, or marketplace sellers in multiple countries can send stablecoins without maintaining local bank accounts or working with inconsistent regional banking infrastructure. In regions with volatile local currencies or limited access to US dollar accounts, stablecoins offer a practical way to hold and deploy value in a reliable unit.

How do stablecoins maintain price stability?

Each stablecoin model uses a specific mechanism to keep its price anchored. Here’s a closer look.

Fiat-backed reserves

These stablecoins are backed 1:1 by cash or cash equivalents such as bank deposits and short-term government securities. The ability to redeem each token for the underlying currency keeps the price steady, as long as the issuer maintains transparent, well-managed reserves.

Crypto-collateralized models

Some stablecoins use volatile crypto assets locked in smart contracts as collateral. They stay stable by requiring borrowers to overcollateralize—often by a wide margin—and by automatically liquidating positions when collateral values fall sharply.

Commodity-backed tokens

This smaller category includes tokens tied to assets such as gold. Their value is tied to the underlying commodity, which makes them more stable than traditional crypto but still subject to market shifts. That’s why they’re less useful for everyday pricing or payments.

Algorithmic mechanisms

Algorithmic stablecoins attempt to hold the peg through software-controlled supply adjustments rather than collateral. When demand rises, the system increases supply; when demand drops, it contracts supply. In practice, these designs have proven fragile, as seen in the collapse of TerraUSD, because maintaining confidence without hard collateral is difficult once sentiment turns.

Across all models, liquidity and trust reinforce the peg. Stablecoins with regular audits and clear redemption paths tend to hold their value more reliably, especially under stress.

What constraints limit the effectiveness of stablecoins?

Stablecoins introduce new considerations that businesses should manage thoughtfully. These are some of the factors that limit stablecoins’ effectiveness.

Regulatory uncertainty

Rules differ widely across regions, and many jurisdictions are still drafting stablecoin-specific frameworks. Businesses must address overlapping compliance requirements—such as Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), licensing, and reporting—without a consistent global playbook.

Issuer confidence and reserve transparency

A stablecoin’s reliability depends on the quality and clarity of its reserves. Not every issuer offers audited, real-time reporting. Doubts about reserve management can cause price slippage or, in extreme cases, destabilize the peg.

Security and custody risks

Storing stablecoins means safeguarding private keys or relying on custodians for crypto asset management. Mistakes such as erroneous transfers and compromised credentials are typically irreversible, so companies need strong policies, secure infrastructure, and well-designed internal controls.

Lack of traditional protections

Stablecoins aren’t insured, which introduces vulnerability. And on-chain payments are final. Without built-in dispute or chargeback mechanisms, there’s no recourse for errors.

Integration challenges

Most enterprise resource planning (ERP), accounting, and treasury systems weren’t built for blockchain transactions. Reconciling wallets, recording on-chain movements, and handling tax or audit requirements can create administrative overhead until tooling improves.

Environment readiness

Even if a business is prepared to use stablecoins, partners or vendors might not be. Adoption varies widely, which can limit where and how stablecoins fit into day-to-day operations.

How can businesses determine where stablecoins add value?

Figuring out where stablecoins fit into your business is about identifying where you need faster, programmable money the most. Consider your primary payment issue, whether that’s cross-border transfers, high fees, fragmented banking access, or cash trapped in transit. Then, estimate how much time, cost, or idle capital you could recover by using stablecoins.

Adoption is easier when suppliers, contractors, or customers already have some experience with digital wallets or are open to receiving stablecoins. Internally, finance, legal, and compliance teams need to be comfortable with the shift. A focused pilot (e.g., using stablecoins for a specific payout stream or cross-border workflow) helps teams learn without disrupting core systems.

You’ll also want to define which stablecoins you’ll use, how you’ll store them, how much exposure is acceptable, and when you’ll convert to fiat. Clear policies tend to reduce risk as volume grows.

How Stripe can help

Stripe Payments provides a unified, global payment solution that helps any business—from scaling startups to global enterprises—accept payments online, in person, and around the world. Businesses can accept stablecoin payments from almost anywhere in the world that settle as fiat in their Stripe balances.

Stripe Payments can help you:

• Optimize your checkout experience: Create a frictionless customer experience and save thousands of engineering hours with prebuilt payment UIs and access to 125+ payment methods, including stablecoins and crypto.

• Expand to new markets faster: Reach customers worldwide and reduce the complexity and cost of multicurrency management with cross-border payment options, available in 195 countries across 135+ currencies.

• Unify payments in person and online: Build a unified commerce experience across online and in-person channels to personalize interactions, reward loyalty, and grow revenue.

• Improve payment performance: Increase revenue with a range of customizable, easy-to-configure payment tools, including no-code fraud protection and advanced capabilities to improve authorization rates.

• Move faster with a flexible, reliable platform for growth: Build on a platform designed to scale with you, with 99.999% historical uptime and industry-leading reliability.

Learn more about how Stripe Payments can power your online and in-person payments, or get started today.