Stablecoins: no longer the new kid on the block

The rapid growth of stablecoins has attracted significant attention from policymakers and financial regulators worldwide, as reflected in the publication of a recent paper from the International Monetary Fund. Drawing on its findings and associated insights, Martin Dowdall and Daniel Hirschfield explore key features of the stablecoin landscape.

The 'State of Crypto 2025 report', published in October 2025, underlined the exponential growth in stablecoins, with transaction volumes across cryptocurrency exchanges and decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms now reaching the levels of activity of the world's largest payment networks. In the previous 12 months, stablecoins processed $46 trillion in annual transactions - a 106 per cent increase from the previous year. [1]