Stablecoin transfers totalled $891 billion in the third quarter of 2026, rising more than fourfold from early 2023, data showed. The figure was confirmed through a Coinbase and The Block Research report.

On Oct. 20, blockchain outlet Cointelegraph reported that, on an adjusted basis for the third quarter, stablecoin transfers exceeded $400 million per hour. Some 73 percent of total transfers took place outside U.S. bank business hours. The numbers showed that stablecoins are being used as a 24-hour payment method compared with legacy bank payment networks.

Adoption by banks and companies also expanded. Seven of the 10 largest U.S. banks conducted payment tests using stablecoins or tokenised deposits. Among mid-sized companies that support cross-border transactions, 30 percent were counted as already using stablecoins or running pilots. That was up from 10 percent in 2024. Business-to-business payment volumes also rose 36 percent from a year earlier.

Blockchain addresses holding stablecoins were estimated at 293 million. The researchers pointed out that this was more than the combined number of cards issued by American Express and Discover, while stressing that the number of addresses does not mean the number of actual users.

The report also presented outlooks for the economic impact. Researchers estimated that if 80 percent of international transactions shifted to stablecoin networks, global gross domestic product would rise by $155 billion annually and about $3 trillion in liquidity that banks tie up for cross-border payments could also be used. They said that if stablecoins spread widely, banks' lending capacity could shrink, offsetting some of the economic benefit.

Demand for crypto services was also identified. In a separate survey released on Oct. 19 by the U.S. National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA), 42 percent of U.S. adults said they were willing to open an account at a bank that offers crypto services or increase how often they use such services. Some 18 percent said they wanted to buy and use stablecoins through their main bank or financial institution. By contrast, 64 percent said they had never received crypto-related guidance from a bank, credit union or financial adviser. Another 43 percent said they did not know whether their bank offers related services.

Market size moved differently from the rise in transactions. On Oct. 20, stablecoin market capitalisation was tallied at $301.42 billion based on DefiLlama data. That was about 0.6 percent lower than $303.14 billion on Oct. 20, 2025. The figures imply that while transactions and usage increased, outstanding issuance was effectively flat over the past year.

Institutional forecasts are mixed. Standard Chartered last week pushed back the timing for the stablecoin market to reach $2 trillion to 2030 from 2028, citing a slowdown in supply growth. Citi, in contrast, projected in its base scenario that the market could reach $1.9 trillion by 2030, and expand to as much as $4 trillion in a bullish scenario.

That leaves the next point to watch as whether actual adoption by banks leads to growth in outstanding issuance. For now, the use of stablecoins for payments and remittances is expanding first, while market capitalisation is not keeping pace.