An analysis found that stablecoin transfers on blockchains totalled about $35 trillion last year, but only 1 percent was used for actual payments.

A joint report by global consulting firm McKinsey and blockchain data analytics firm Artemis Analytics said actual payment activity via stablecoins totalled about $380 billion in 2025. That is 1 percent of total stablecoin transaction volume and about 0.02 percent of the global payments market.

That is far from figures often cited as exceeding the size of Visa or Mastercard payments, CoinDesk reported.

The analysis said real-payment use falls into 3 areas. Business-to-business transactions accounted for about $226 billion, global payroll and remittances about $90 billion, and automated fund settlements in capital markets about $8 billion. It also found most stablecoin activity involved crypto-to-crypto trading, asset transfers within exchanges and protocol-level automation functions that are not directly linked to users.

Even so, McKinsey and Artemis did not deny stablecoins' long-term potential. The report said, "A low share of real payments today does not mean the potential should be underestimated," adding the analysis is a starting point for setting realistic benchmarks and clarifying tasks for future growth.