Stablecoins: The Emerging Market Story

Stablecoins are evolving beyond speculative trading tools, a recent survey reveals. This research, conducted by Castle Island Ventures, Brevan Howard, Artemis, and Visa Crypto, highlights real-world applications of stablecoins in five emerging markets.

The survey, titled "Stablecoins: The Emerging Market Story," explored how users utilize stablecoins across Brazil, Nigeria, Turkey, Indonesia, and India. With $2.6 trillion settled in stablecoins this year, the study involved 2,500 respondents to assess practical use cases.

According to Nic Carter from Castle Island, this is the first survey to reveal actual stablecoin usage globally, especially in emerging markets. Conducted from May 29 to June 13, 2024, using YouGov, 500 adults from each of the aforementioned countries participated.

With nearly $170 billion in circulation, stablecoins have proven to be a significant application of cryptocurrency. A conservative estimate suggests that $3.7 trillion settled using stablecoins in 2023, despite applying methodologies to filter out non-genuine use cases.

In the first half of 2024, $2.62 trillion was transacted with stablecoins, indicating an annualized rate of $5.28 trillion, showing continued growth even during down market cycles.

Notably, 57% of users reported increased stablecoin usage over the past year, with 72% projecting continued growth. The most common non-trading uses included currency conversion, remittances, and payments for goods.

Usage varies by region; for example, in Turkey, many users earn yield through stablecoins, while in Nigeria, saving money in U.S. dollars is a primary motive. Indonesian users find more accessible options for B2B payments through stablecoins than traditional banking.

Lastly, survey results revealed Tether’s USDT as the most popular stablecoin, making up $118 billion of the total, while Ethereum emerged as the leading blockchain for value exchange.