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In a world rapidly embracing digital transformation, stablecoins have emerged as one of the most influential financial innovations of the past decade. With major players like Visa and Mastercard adopting this technology, and companies like Stripe and Circle making significant moves in the space, 2025 is shaping up to be the year of the stablecoin.
But with all this momentum, serious questions arise: Have we forgotten the true purpose of stablecoins? And has their use become limited to serving the traditional financial ecosystem instead of empowering the underserved?
Stablecoins Are Going Mainstream… But at What Cost?
Stablecoins are no longer confined to crypto traders and early adopters. They’ve become formal financial tools embedded in payment cards and e-commerce platforms. With Visa and Mastercard launching stablecoin-linked cards and Stripe acquiring Bridge to support stablecoin payments, it’s clear that stablecoins are entering the global financial infrastructure.
Yet, a fundamental concern remains: Do these developments actually serve the end user, or are they simply efforts by legacy institutions to stay relevant?
Stablecoin-Linked Cards Offer Limited Value to the Average User
In practical terms, using stablecoins like USDT at a supermarket doesn’t offer any real advantage over using the U.S. dollar. The outcome is the same—funds are deducted electronically from an account. To access such services, users often still need a bank account and a solid credit history.
In essence, linking stablecoins to traditional payment systems does little to benefit financially excluded populations. It’s simply a new wrapper for the same old system.
Stablecoins ≠ Traditional Finance
Stablecoins are not just digital versions of fiat currencies. They represent a unique opportunity to rethink the way we deliver financial services in a more inclusive and equitable way. Today, more than 1.4 billion people around the world are unbanked. In Africa, 57% of people have no access to banking. Even in the U.S., 6% of adults were unbanked as of 2024.
So, do stablecoin-linked cards or e-commerce integrations or Wall Street buying into Circle do anything for these groups? The short answer: No.
Where Should Stablecoins Be Going? Toward the Underserved
According to Coinbase’s State of Crypto report: “Anyone with a smartphone and internet connection [is able] to store value, send money, and access global financial networks without needing a traditional bank account.”
That’s the essence of stablecoins—providing access to financial services for those excluded from the system.
Signs of this shift are already emerging. In 2024, 5% of unbanked adults in the U.S. used cryptocurrency for financial transactions, compared to just 2% of banked adults. This clearly indicates that the financially marginalized are actively seeking alternatives—and stablecoins offer that alternative.
Real Innovation Happens Outside Traditional Finance
While traditional debit and credit cards remain dominant, we are seeing exciting new developments in payments. In some developing markets, digital wallets like MiniPay enable users to pay bills, send money abroad, and even subscribe to streaming services using stablecoins without ever touching a bank.
In Q1 2025 alone, apps within the MiniPay ecosystem generated over 50 million weekly impressions and 5 million weekly app opens, indicating strong demand. These apps are often built by developers who personally experience financial hardship, meaning the solutions they provide are rooted in real-world challenges.
Another great example is Strike, a company transforming the remittance industry in Latin America using stablecoins. Strike addresses a major financial pain point, offering a faster, cheaper, and more effective alternative to outdated systems.
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From Local Solutions to Global Use Cases
What starts as a stablecoin wallet built to bypass high remittance fees can quickly evolve into a global solution. Travelers, for example, could load their wallets with stablecoins and use them to pay for local services like mobile data or transportation, without the need to exchange currencies or incur steep card fees. These innovations prove that stablecoins can solve real-world problems, not just for the unbanked, but for users around the globe.
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Conclusion: Let’s Recalibrate Our Focus
Stablecoins are at a pivotal moment. We can either integrate them into the current financial system and risk repeating old mistakes, or use them as a tool to rebuild financial access from the ground up.
To stay true to the original vision of crypto, we must focus on creating simple, user-friendly stablecoin solutions that help the global unbanked participate in the digital economy. Only then can we say we’ve fulfilled the promise of stablecoins—not just as digital dollars, but as a transformational financial tool for a more inclusive world.