Bitwise: Stablecoins are going mainstream; crypto assets are fully connecting global finance.

Author: Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise; Translator: Shaw, Jinse Finance

The crypto industry has been quite turbulent recently: Bitcoin has climbed back above $80,000, Haun Ventures has raised $1 billion for its new crypto venture capital fund, and the US Congress has made progress on the CLARITY Act. Among the many trending topics, two recent news items have been lingering in my mind: DoorDash will launch stablecoin payment functionality in over 40 countries; Meta will begin offering stablecoin revenue settlement to platform creators in the Philippines and Colombia. In terms of scale, neither of these events is particularly groundbreaking. Both are still in the pilot phase, and the funding scale is relatively small. However, they have answered a long-standing question I have about stablecoins, and they have further convinced me that the future asset size of stablecoins will expand to trillions of dollars and the number of users will exceed hundreds of millions. More importantly, these two events have made it clear to me what the true killer application of stablecoins really is. From Now to the Future Currently, the total asset value of stablecoins hovers around $300 billion. Mainstream forecasts suggest this value could reach as high as $4 trillion by 2030. To achieve this goal, stablecoins must move beyond their current core use in crypto transactions and truly enter real-world scenarios such as everyday consumer payments. The industry has already made considerable progress: startups like ARQ provide a convenient access to USD stablecoins for over two million users in emerging markets; Yellowcard leverages stablecoins to support B2B transactions between businesses in the Southern Hemisphere, experiencing rapid business growth. However, to truly reach hundreds of millions of ordinary users on a large scale, stablecoins cannot function without the entry and support of large, established companies.

Detailed Explanation of Two Core Events

DoorDash's business spans over 40 countries, with an extremely complex business model. It processes billions of transactions daily between consumers, merchants, and delivery riders, including tips and refunds, in addition to frequent rider turnover. The platform has 10 million delivery riders.

Imagine: handling onboarding settlements and offboarding payroll for tens of millions of flexible workers across 40 countries, while also adapting to different banking systems, currency rules, and salary payment systems—the operational complexity is a nightmare. To simplify this process, DoorDash has partnered with Stripe to explore using stablecoins for payment. In the future, paying riders will only require a single wallet address.

Meta faces the same challenges.

Meta's platforms, including Instagram, will settle revenue with content creators in over 100 countries worldwide. These creators have freedom of movement, flexible working hours, and use dozens of different fiat currencies. While the official number hasn't been disclosed, industry statistics indicate that the global creator economy employs over 200 million people. Paying such a large group across borders is extremely difficult. Therefore, Meta is exploring using the Solana and Polygon networks to settle revenue with creators in stablecoins, initially launching in the Philippines and Colombia, with plans for continued expansion. The Overlooked Killer Application of Stablecoins: These two events reveal a key logic that most people haven't grasped. We usually promote the advantages of stablecoins as lower fees and faster transfers. I often describe it this way: Stablecoins allow for instant global transfers with a fee of only 1 cent; traditional bank wire transfers take 2 to 5 business days and incur fees as high as $30. This is indeed true and has significant advantages. However, the core motivation for DoorDash and Meta to develop stablecoins is not just saving money. More importantly, stablecoins make global payments extremely simple—requiring only a wallet address, without relying on traditional banking infrastructure or currency exchange. For global companies that need to handle massive amounts of small cross-border payments, this minimalist underlying capability is invaluable. I believe that all global tech companies with distributed gig workers will gradually follow DoorDash and Meta down this path. This process will also bring tens of millions of ordinary users into the crypto ecosystem. Ultimately, this is the biggest industry impact: **Stablecoins are the strongest entry point and bridge to widespread adoption in the crypto world.** Once users have a stablecoin wallet, they can access Bitcoin and decentralized finance (DeFi) with a single click. When stablecoins reach hundreds of millions of people, crypto assets will become a permanent part of the global financial infrastructure, and the audience for crypto investment will experience explosive growth. These pilot projects precisely point to a clear path to this future.