Stablecoins are Overtaking Visa: Here is The Latest Data

A new chart from Bitwise Asset Management has sent shockwaves through the financial world, showing that stablecoin transaction volumes are now rivaling—and in some cases surpassing—Visa’s global payments.

The chart, which compares annual volume data from 2018 to Q1 2025, paints a clear picture: digital dollars are gaining serious traction.

From 2018 through 2021, Visa maintained a solid lead over stablecoins in terms of payment volume, with annual totals consistently hovering around $9T–$11T. Stablecoins, on the other hand, didn’t even register meaningfully until 2020. But by 2021, they had crossed $6T, and by 2022, they had soared past $8T—eclipsing MasterCard and creeping up behind Visa.

Then came the tipping point. In 2023 and 2024, stablecoin volumes surged past Visa’s, reaching the $13–14 trillion range. Visa’s growth, while steady, appeared linear and flat by comparison. In Q1 2025 alone, stablecoins processed more volume than Visa—a staggering signal of adoption, considering that’s just one quarter.

This rapid rise is powered by the increasing integration of blockchain-based payments into everyday use cases—cross-border transactions, remittances, DeFi applications, and even on-chain payroll. Stablecoins, pegged to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, offer the stability of traditional money with the speed and programmability of crypto rails.

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Bitwise’s caption couldn’t be more direct: “If traditional payment companies aren’t getting nervous, they should be.” The implication is clear—legacy payment networks are being disrupted at a structural level.

Visa, for its part, has not ignored the trend. It has launched pilot programs for stablecoin-based settlements on Ethereum and other networks. But with stablecoins being used for real-time settlement, programmable finance, and lower-fee international transactions, Visa’s dominance is being actively eroded.

The big question heading into the rest of 2025: Will regulators accelerate frameworks to support stablecoin adoption—or will they act to preserve legacy financial infrastructure? Either way, the numbers show the future of payments is no longer purely plastic. It’s programmable, blockchain-based, and already moving trillions.

Kosta Gushterov

Kosta has been working in the crypto industry for over 4 years. He strives to present different perspectives on a given topic and enjoys the sector for its transparency and dynamism. In his work, he focuses on balanced coverage of events and developments in the crypto space, providing information to his readers from a neutral perspective.