Stablecoins Shift Toward Everyday Money as Holders Reallocate Savings, Global Study Finds

A new global survey indicates stablecoins are evolving from primarily speculative instruments into operational payment rails, with respondents and market data pointing to meaningful use cases in payments, payroll and savings alongside trading activity. The study links these behavioral shifts to a cited circulating supply near $300B, growing acquisition intent and quantifiable cost advantages for cross‑border workers.

The report samples 4,658 adults across 15 countries. It finds over half of respondents held stablecoins in the past year; 56% of current owners plan to increase holdings and 13% of non‑holders intend to start. Holders on average allocate roughly a third of their liquid savings to crypto and stablecoins combined, with retention and accumulation strongest in currency‑volatile markets. About half of existing holders raised their balances during the past year, signaling active accumulation rather than purely passive custody.

Patterns of circulation are material: 27% of holders use stablecoins directly for purchases and 45% convert to local fiat to spend. Conversions often happen quickly — more than a quarter move funds within days and roughly two‑thirds within months. Merchant acceptance is already shaping behavior: a majority of holders report making transactions because a seller accepted stablecoins, though desired spending levels still exceed actual acceptance across many merchant categories.

For digital labour and marketplace sellers, stablecoins matter to income flows: respondents receiving crypto say stablecoins average about 35% of annual earnings, and three‑quarters report improved access to international clients and expanded sales. Users who rely on crypto for receipts or remittances report roughly 40% savings in fees versus traditional channels, citing lower commissions, faster settlement and simpler cross‑border mechanics.

Friction remains a growth limiter. Users flag irreversible transactions, custody risk, multi‑step UX, wallet and chain confusion, and opaque fees as barriers. Respondents want payment experiences resembling mainstream rails: wider merchant acceptance, transparent fees and firmer consumer protections. Until these connective layers are delivered, many treat stablecoins as complementary instruments rather than primary money.

Those user dynamics are unfolding against a changing market and policy backdrop. On‑chain flows from the largest dollar‑pegged tokens have recently contracted, a development market participants say reduces immediately available liquidity and can mute the rapid “buy‑the‑dip” dynamics that previously supported crypto rallies. Independent banking analyses warn large‑scale stablecoin growth — or abrupt off‑ramps — can act as a channel for deposit migration and compress regional banks’ net interest margins unless issuer reserves recycle into domestic deposit pools.

Regulatory divergence is also reshaping the path to mainstream use. European frameworks such as MiCA are embedding redemption rights and staged licensing that favor predictable authorization paths, while U.S. proposals (including frameworks like the GENIUS Act) emphasize drawing a legal perimeter between payment instruments and investment products and constraining routine yield on reserves. Those choices — along with supervisory focus on reserve custody, issuer eligibility and real‑time monitoring — will determine whether a subset of stablecoins can be operated with bank‑grade liquidity characteristics or whether activity bifurcates into lighter‑protected, higher‑risk tokens.

Policymakers and banks are responding with alternative models: tokenized deposits that preserve depositor protections while moving settlement on‑chain are being piloted as a way to capture programmable‑money benefits without inducing deposit flight. The immediate policy challenge is operationalising legal mandates into auditable reserve disclosures, contingency liquidity plans, cross‑border coordination and infrastructure resilience before the next stress event.

Taken together, the survey’s user‑level evidence of growing payments use and income integration, combined with recent liquidity swings and regulatory trade‑offs, suggests a critical window for shaping whether stablecoins scale as practical, everyday money or remain niche, complementary rails. Actions by issuers, wallets, exchanges, payment processors and supervisors over the next 12–24 months will largely determine that outcome.