Global investment bank Standard Chartered analysed that stablecoin circulation velocity, or turnover, has doubled over the past two years.

According to blockchain media outlet CoinPost on March 31 (local time), the monthly average turnover of stablecoins has risen to about 6 times.

Standard Chartered said rising velocity could lower demand for new issuance. Geoffrey Kendrick (제프리 켄드릭), head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, explained that as velocity increases, the amount that needs to be newly issued could decline. It kept its existing forecast that stablecoin market capitalisation will reach $2 trillion by the end of 2028.

The sharp rise in velocity was led by Circle's USDC, with activity standing out on Solana (SOL) and the Base network. USDC has moved differently from Tether's USDT since mid-2024, and analysis said that after the GENIUS bill was enacted in the summer of 2025, demand to replace the existing financial system under a federal regulatory framework accelerated further.

New demand drivers cited included innovation in existing banking networks and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) agent payments through Coinbase's x402 protocol. Kendrick said these uses create new demand rather than encroaching on the existing spot holdings market.

By contrast, USDT turnover, mainly used as a savings tool in emerging markets, stayed stably at a low level. That has led to an assessment that usage is polarising, with USDT used to store value and USDC used for payments and as a substitute for traditional finance.

Standard Chartered forecast that additional demand for U.S. Treasuries could reach $1 trillion as the market expands. It also said that in payments, capital markets and automated trading, "speed" could be a key indicator of market growth and that it would monitor it. Prominent investor Stanley Druckenmiller (스탠리 드러켄밀러) recently said stablecoins could become the foundation of the global payments system within the next 15 years, and assessed that fiat-pegged tokens are more efficient and offer better value for money than traditional remittance infrastructure.

As the stablecoin market grows, the core competitive edge is likely to shift from simple issuance scale to how quickly and frequently tokens are actually used. With the roles of USDC and USDT gradually diverging, future market leadership is expected to depend on the regulatory environment, network scalability and how much real-world payments demand can be secured.