TradFi Giants Launch Stablecoin Revolution: Major Banks and Payment Firms Jockey for Control
Traditional Finance Institutions Flock to Stablecoins in Wake of Regulatory Uncertainties Easing
As regulatory uncertainties continue to ease, traditional finance institutions across the US, Europe and Asia are making a beeline for stablecoins. Payment companies like PayPal, Mastercard and Visa are either launching their own stablecoins, integrating stablecoin settlement into their payment systems or building the infrastructure to support them. But it’s not just corporations that are racing towards this new market – major international banks are also getting in on the action.
GENIUS Shoots Starting Gun for US Stablecoin Race
In July 2023, President Donald Trump signed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act into law. This legislation marked a significant turning point for the US stablecoin market, providing clarity on regulatory requirements and paving the way for mainstream adoption. Prior to the GENIUS Act, New York’s trust charter regime was the primary path for US stablecoins, with companies like PayPal issuing their own USD-pegged stablecoin through Paxos.
Racing Ahead: The US Stablecoin Market
The GENIUS Act has accelerated development in the US stablecoin market. Fiserv, a Wisconsin-based fintech company, announced its own USD-denominated stablecoin, FIUSD, which will be integrated into banking and merchant settlement systems by year-end using Paxos and Circle infrastructure. This move is part of a broader strategy to expand its offerings and improve payment processing efficiency.
In response to the GENIUS Act, Fiserv has partnered with the Bank of North Dakota on the "Roughrider Coin" interbank settlement pilot. This partnership represents a significant step forward for stablecoin adoption in the US and demonstrates the willingness of major financial institutions to explore new payment systems.
Visa Joins the fray
Mastercard also joined Paxos’ Global Dollar Network in June 2025, enabling stablecoin settlement across its merchant and payment rails. Visa has long been an innovator in the payment services space, beginning to settle USDC on Ethereum as far back as 2021 and extending that capability to Solana in 2023.
US Dollar Stablecoins: Dominating the Global Market
The impact of these initiatives is already being felt globally. According to CoinMarketCap, Euro stablecoins total about $680 million in market value compared with roughly $305 billion for US dollar stablecoins. However, the dominance of US dollar-pegged stablecoins like USDC and USDT is built on a foundation laid before the GENIUS Act.
European Stablecoins: An Emerging Market
Euros have started to play their own part in this global scenario thanks to stricter regulations that followed when Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) took effect for stablecoins by mid-2024. European banks and financial institutions rushed into issuance, with a few giants such as ING, UniCredit, KBC and DekaBank collaborating to launch a shared euro denominated.
However, not all projects can launch without being regulated at the local level. For instance, France’s SG-Forge issued EURCV alongside USDCV while custodian work was carried out by New York’s BNY Custodial. In another example of co-regulation in action, Germany’s AllUnity launched EURAU and expanded it to multiple blockchains.
Asians stablecoins: fragmented market
The emergence of the digital asset segment is a little more complex than in some other parts of the world because different countries like South Korea have been involved with their own regulatory initiatives since 2022 that included specific licensing for various types.
