Standard Chartered Bank: Stablecoin trading volumes surge, and the market size is expected to exceed $2 trillion by 2028

Gate News message: According to a new report from Standard Chartered Bank in the UK, trading activity in stablecoins is increasing rapidly, and the market size is expected to grow fivefold by 2028, reaching $2 trillion. The report was written by Jeff Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Asset Research at Standard Chartered, who said that over the past two years, the overall circulation speed of stablecoins has doubled; currently, on average, they turn over six times per month, indicating that these dollar-pegged tokens are being used more and more widely.

The Standard Chartered report also notes that stablecoin use cases are expanding. They are no longer used only for cryptocurrency trading and decentralized finance (DeFi), but are increasingly entering artificial intelligence payments, cross-border payments, and traditional financial business. As major enterprises and banks roll out their own stablecoins, the payment and settlement functions of digital tokens are being continuously strengthened, driving transaction volume even higher.

Since U.S. President Trump signed the GENIUS Act, the practical value of stablecoins within the global financial system has become increasingly evident, especially in developing countries, where people use stablecoins to hedge against the risk of local-currency depreciation or to improve payment efficiency. The report emphasizes that these new application scenarios are crucial to overall market growth; without innovative use cases, even if trading speeds up, it may limit the expansion of market size.

According to DefiLlama data, the current market size of stablecoins is about $315.5 billion. However, as trading frequency and the scope of use expand, Standard Chartered maintains its forecast that it will reach $2 trillion by the end of 2028. Analysts say that stablecoins are shifting from traditional crypto trading tools to broader roles as payment and financial infrastructure. Investors and enterprises should pay attention to opportunities for their development within the global digital-asset ecosystem.

Overall, the rapid circulation and diversification of stablecoin applications are accelerating the fusion of digital currencies with traditional finance. In the coming years, they are expected to become an important driving force for the real-world deployment of blockchain technology, and they may also affect the market landscape of major crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.