Why Stablecoin Payments Matter Now: The Offshore Dollar Revolution Reshaping Global Payments

The Offshore Dollar Story You Haven’t Heard

To understand why stablecoins matter on a global scale, you need to understand the Eurodollar market: US dollars outside of the United States. This market was born after World War II, when Soviet officials, fearing that the US would freeze their oil export receipts in American banks, began transferring their US dollars via London banks, under contracts governed by English Law.

The size of the Eurodollar market exploded to more than $13 trillion, becoming the foundation for interbank loans, Eurobonds and, perhaps even more spectacularly, for financial derivatives such as swaps and options on interest rates as well as foreign exchange. The price of these offshore dollars was set by LIBOR (the London Interbank Offered Rate), which is the interest rate banks charged each other for lending dollars outside America.

The 2008 financial crisis exposed collusion in the LIBOR market, with traders manipulating those interest rates for their own profit. By 2023, LIBOR was completely phased out and replaced by SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate), bringing pricing back onshore to the US.

The result? Offshore dollar liquidity evaporated just when global demand was surging.

That’s the macro backdrop against which stablecoins found their product-market fit. With the stability of the US dollar and the versatility of blockchain transactions, think of stablecoins as programmable versions of Eurodollars that don’t need banks as intermediaries. This allows stablecoins to meet the voracious demand for dollars outside the United States required for the global financial system to function.

Why Businesses Are Turning to Stablecoin Payments

With landmark clarity from the U.S. GENIUS Act and European MiCA regulation paving the way for adoption, the race is on to optimise global payments with stablecoins.

The numbers tell the story. The supply of stablecoins has grown from $2 billion to over $200 billion in circulation in just the last six years.

Source: Visa Onchain Analytics Dashboard (April 2025)

Even when you strip out trading volumes generated when crypto traders “sit out” market volatility in stablecoins, you’re still looking at pure stablecoin payment volumes approaching those of Visa and Mastercard. With projections indicating that the market will continue to grow rapidly, stablecoin supply may exceed US$3 trillion by 2030.

Major global payment processors, including Rapyd, have launched stablecoin payment solutions. Visa is also investing in stablecoin infrastructure, recently adding new stablecoins and support for additional blockchains. Both the US and Europe have passed legislation facilitating its adoption. This isn’t experimentation. It’s transformation, with the private sector leading the charge. It is potentially the biggest shift in global monetary policy since the collapse of Bretton Woods and the end of the gold standard. 

What’s Driving This Shift? 

Three forces are driving stablecoin adoption and use: 

1. Supply-side incentives
2. Growing demand
3. An opportunity gap in traditional banking services

The Supply Side: The US’s Strategic Interests

The recent ban on developing a US central bank digital currency wasn’t a rejection of digital dollars – it was an embrace of private sector innovation. Instead of a government-controlled CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency), the US is leveraging regulated private companies to spread US dollar dominance globally. It’s a strategic choice: let thousands of private companies push the US dollar everywhere rather than rely on a single central bank initiative. In doing so, the US may also succeed in creating a deeper market in short-term US Treasury Bills (stablecoin issuers buy them to earn yield), thereby lowering short-term financing costs for the US government.

The Demand Side: Emerging Markets Need Stable Currency

Picture a Colombian business invoicing international clients. The Colombian exporter would prefer to get paid in US dollars to protect against currency volatility. But opening a US dollar bank account isn’t an easy proposition. In contrast, creating a stablecoin wallet is a much faster solution.

Businesses across emerging markets are using stablecoins to:

• Invoice in a stable currency without the need for a foreign bank account
• Store value protected from local currency devaluation
• Receive payments instantly, 24/7, 365 days a year
• Avoid the multiple intermediaries that slow down and add expense to traditional bank transfers

The Opportunity Gap: Where Banks Fear to Tread

Watch a European football match and you’ll very likely see the logos of sports betting websites or CFD (Contracts For Difference) speculation companies on team shirts—these are now household brands generating serious tax revenue for very indebted governments. Yet banks avoid these sectors, primarily due to reputational risk.

Non-banks are filling this gap, especially with stablecoin payment solutions for legitimate, regulated businesses that are underserved by traditional finance.

How Stablecoins Create Working Capital Efficiency for Global Merchants

Let’s say you are a global e-commerce business with a treasury based in the Netherlands. One of your main markets is Latin America. On the one hand, you are getting paid in Colombian Pesos; on the other, you need to repatriate those revenues into Euros for your Dutch treasury account. Here’s how stablecoins transform this process:

Traditional route: 

• Convert Pesos to US Dollars (because there’s more peso-dollar liquidity than peso-euro)
• Convert dollars to euros
• Send the money via SWIFT, likely through multiple correspondent banks 

Time: 2-5 days.

Stablecoin route:

• Convert Pesos to Stablecoins
• Transfer Stablecoins instantly to an EU-based account
• Convert Stablecoins into Euros
• Settle those Euros to your Treasury bank account in the Netherlands, in real time.

Time: Minutes.

With stablecoins, you are cutting out correspondent banks, reducing settlement risk and gaining real-time visibility.

Stablecoin as a Tool for Liquidity Management

Modern treasury teams are already keeping part of their working capital liquidity in stablecoins like USDT and USDC. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) estimated that corporate treasury accounts for 5-10% of total stablecoin payment transactions. Why? When you miscalculate a daily liquidity need in one of your subsidiaries on the other side of the world, waiting days for SWIFT isn’t an option. Stablecoins provide instant, global liquidity deployment. Think of them as your treasury’s rapid response tool.

What Do Stablecoins Mean for Your Business?

If you’re in any of these categories, stablecoins deserve your attention now:

• Global merchants: Particularly if dealing with emerging markets, where traditional banking is slow, expensive and restrictive
• High-opportunity industries: Regulated gambling, forex, crypto exchanges, digital goods, and other sectors where traditional banks are reluctant to engage
• Businesses with remote workers: Paying contractors and employees across borders without wire transfers or delays
• Companies with volatile supply chains: Needing to move money quickly between regions to capitalise on opportunities

The infrastructure is maturing quickly. Modern blockchains with proof-of-stake mechanisms and layer 2 scaling solutions can process transactions many times faster than just a few years ago. Compliance and monitoring tools have evolved to meet regulatory requirements, and major payment processors are building stablecoin capabilities into their offerings.