Chainalysis sees a huge jump in stablecoin payment volume

A new projection cited by CoinDesk says adjusted stablecoin transaction volume could climb to $719 trillion by 2035. The forecast is tied to organic growth in onchain payments rather than a one-off speculative boom.

That number is striking because it suggests stablecoins could move from being mostly a trading tool to becoming a major part of how global value is transferred. The report frames this as a structural shift in payments, not just another crypto market cycle.

A generational wealth transfer is part of the thesis

One of the central arguments behind the forecast is demographic.

As wealth shifts from older generations to younger users who are more comfortable with digital assets, stablecoins may benefit from a much more crypto-native customer base. CoinDesk’s summary says this wealth transfer is one of the forces expected to speed up mainstream adoption over the next decade.

That matters because payment habits are often generational. If younger users are more open to onchain financial tools, then stablecoins may have a much easier path into savings, transfers, commerce, and global remittance flows than they did in earlier years.

Visa and Mastercard are already reacting

This is not just a crypto-native narrative. The traditional payment giants are already moving.

Reuters reported in January that Visa is actively integrating stablecoins into existing payment systems and has seen growing demand from stablecoin-linked card providers. Visa’s head of crypto said the company’s annualized stablecoin settlement run rate had reached about $4.5 billion, even though merchant acceptance is still limited.

Reuters also reported in March that Mastercard agreed to acquire stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK for up to $1.8 billion, a deal meant to strengthen its position in blockchain-based transfers, cross-border payments, and payouts. Mastercard said rising regulatory clarity and wider usage of stablecoins are opening new opportunities beyond traditional card rails.

Stablecoins are still small, but the direction is clear

Even with the long-term forecast, stablecoin payments are still early relative to legacy networks.

Reuters noted that Visa processed $14.2 trillion in annual payments last year, far above its current stablecoin-related settlement run rate. It also reported that headline onchain stablecoin volumes are often adjusted lower to remove high-frequency trading and other non-payment activity.

That is important because it keeps the comparison grounded. Stablecoins are not replacing Visa or Mastercard today. But the projection suggests that if real payment usage keeps growing, the gap may narrow much faster than many people expected.

Why this matters for the market

This matters because it shifts the stablecoin story away from pure crypto trading and toward payments infrastructure.

If stablecoins really become a major settlement layer for global transfers, cards, remittances, and business payments, then the winners may not just be token issuers. The winners could also include companies that control compliance, orchestration, wallet access, FX conversion, merchant connectivity, and interoperability between fiat and blockchain systems. That is an inference from the forecast together with Visa’s and Mastercard’s recent moves.

It also suggests that the payments race may become less about whether stablecoins survive and more about who controls the user-facing rails around them.

Stablecoins are starting to look like a real payments challenge

The big takeaway is that stablecoins are no longer being discussed only as crypto plumbing.

A forecast of $719 trillion by 2035 is still just a projection, but it lines up with what the market is already showing: rising card activity, more institutional investment in stablecoin infrastructure, and growing pressure on legacy payment networks to adapt. If younger users really do pull finance further onchain, the stablecoin payments story could become much bigger than most traditional finance incumbents expected.