Stablecoin Payment Volume Hits $4.5 Trillion in Q1 2026, Driven by Asian Markets

Stablecoin payment volume reached $4.5 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, according to a16z crypto's quarterly tracker. According to NS3.AI, nearly two-thirds of this volume originated from Asia, with significant contributions from Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. An IMF working paper has linked the U.S. House passage of the GENIUS Act to an approximate $22 billion abnormal drop in market value across 35 payment companies, underscoring growing concerns about potential disruptions to traditional payment networks.