Stablecoin volumes to reach $719T by 2035 as generational wealth shift speeds up crypto adoption

Massive transfer of wealth to younger, crypto-native users and rising payment volumes challenge dominance of Visa and Mastercard

What to know:

• Stablecoins could become a core layer of global finance, with adjusted transaction volumes projected by Chainalysis to reach $719 trillion by 2035.
• Despite moving more than $35 trillion on blockchains last year, stablecoins still account for just a tiny fraction of global payments, leaving significant room for growth.
• Chainalysis expects onchain stablecoin payments to rival Visa and Mastercard volumes by 2039, driven by younger generations’ crypto adoption and the appeal of faster, cheaper, programmable transactions.

Stablecoins are on track to become a foundational layer of global finance, with adjusted transaction volumes projected to reach $719 trillion by 2035, according to a new report by blockchain research firm Chainalysis on Wednesday.

The growth, driven by organic adoption alone, signals a structural shift in how value moves across borders and through everyday commerce, the research firm added.

Stablecoins moved more than $35 trillion on blockchain rails last year, noting that only roughly 1% was for real-world payments, according to a March report by McKinsey and blockchain data firm Atermis Analytics.

A key catalyst is the looming generational wealth transfer, with as much as $100 trillion expected to pass from Baby Boomers to Millennials and Gen Z over the coming decades. These younger cohorts, far more likely to use crypto as a financial instrument by default, are set to redefine payment preferences at scale, embedding digital assets into mainstream economic activity.

“When crypto becomes the default for the next generation of capital, the question is no longer if stablecoins compete with traditional rails, but how quickly they replace them,” Chainalysis said in its report.

At the same time, stablecoin transaction volumes are quickly converging with traditional payment networks. Chainalysis said that current trends suggest onchain payments could match Visa and Mastercard’s volumes no later than 2039, placing direct competitive pressure on legacy rails long defined by intermediaries, fees and delayed settlement.

Unlike card networks, stablecoins enable near-instant, 24/7 settlement and programmable transactions, reducing friction across remittances, business payments, and treasury operations. As merchant adoption expands, paying with stablecoins is increasingly shifting from a deliberate choice to invisible infrastructure, the firm added.

Chainalysis is also introducing a new category of blockchain intelligence agents, aimed at helping institutions navigate and operationalize this transition as digital assets move from the margins to the core of global finance.

“The institutions that build for onchain payments now will define the next era of global finance, while those that wait risk settling on someone else’s rails,” Chainalysis said.

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