Stablecoins pegged to Bitcoin and the US dollar are becoming a global alternative for cross-border value transfer, without the need for banks and card networks, a trend that is becoming increasingly evident as the settlement volume on the Bitcoin network has begun to rival that of the world's largest payment giants.
The digital asset research report for Q4 2025 released by blockchain data platform Glassnode on Wednesday shows that Bitcoin has settled payments worth $6.9 trillion in the past 90 days, a figure "comparable to or even higher than Visa and Mastercard."
The report noted that during the same period, Visa processed $4.25 trillion in payments, while Mastercard handled $2.63 trillion, totaling $6.88 trillion.
Glassnode stated on the X platform: "As funds flow towards #ETFs and brokers, activity is migrating off-chain, but Bitcoin and #stablecoins continue to dominate on-chain settlements."
Glassnode estimates that once internal transfers between addresses controlled by the same entity are excluded, Bitcoin's "economic" settlement scale approaches $870 billion per quarter, or about $78 billion per day. The agency emphasized that these figures still demonstrate the growing importance of Bitcoin as a "globally relevant settlement network connecting institutional and retail transaction flows."
This figure is significantly lower compared to Visa's average daily transaction volume of $39.7 billion or Mastercard's $26.2 billion, most of which is used for consumer retail spending and daily needs.
In contrast, Bitcoin's settlement volume is primarily attributed to trading, remittances, and store-of-value investments, as global merchant adoption remains relatively low.
According to BTCmap data, there are only 20,599 merchants worldwide that accept Bitcoin payments, compared to Visa's 175 million merchant locations globally.
Stablecoins are emerging as another global value transfer alternative, thanks to their fixed prices, low transaction fees, and 24/7 availability.
According to Glassnode's calculations, the five major stablecoins have a 30-day moving average transfer volume, with stablecoins now averaging $225 billion in value transferred daily.
However, a research report from cryptocurrency exchange CEX.io indicates that of the approximately $15.6 trillion in stablecoin transfers in Q3 2025, about 70% were related to automated trading bots rather than organic activity.
Organic non-bot activity accounted for only about 20% of the total, while the remaining 9% was attributed to internal smart contract transfers and internal exchange trading.
Researchers at the exchange pointed out that distinguishing between organic activity and bot activity is "crucial" for policymakers assessing the systemic risks and practical applications of stablecoin payments.
Related: The UK takes a "significant step" by passing cryptocurrency property law.
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