Circle’s Allaire: Stablecoins Could Expand by Trillions in 10 Years, Will Be Integral Part of Global Financial System

The
stablecoin
market
could
grow
to
a
$5
trillion
to
$10
trillion
market
in
10
years
as
digital
money
wins
a
larger
slice
of
the
global
financial
system,
Jeremy
Allaire,
CEO
of
Circle,
the
company
behind
the
USDC
and
EURC
stablecoins,
said
in
an
interview
with
CoinDesk.

Allaire
said
he
envisions
stablecoins
–
a
type
of
cryptocurrency
whose
value
is
pegged
to
a
conventional
currency
like
the
U.S.
dollar
or
euro
–
capturing
a
5%
to
10%
share
of
a
global
money
supply
of
$100
trillion
over
the
next
decade
as
the
technology
spreads
like
previous
internet-based
innovations
such
as
video
streaming
and
online
shopping.

“We
are
at
the
very
early
stages
of
stablecoin
adoption
but
over
the
next
10,
20
years,
this
technology
will
be
part
of
the
global
financial
system,”
he
said.

Stablecoins
are
one
of
the
most
popular
innovations
in
crypto,
bridging
government-issued
fiat
currencies
on
traditional
financial
rails
with
blockchain-based
digital
assets,
facilitating
trading
and
transactions.
Taken
together,
all
stablecoins
have
a
market
capitalization
of
about
$170
billion.
Because
of
their
non-volatile
nature
combined
with
blockchain’s
speed
and
near-instant
settlements,
they
are
increasingly
used
for
everyday
economic
activities
such
as
payments
and
remittances,
especially
in
developing
countries
with
less
robust
banking
systems
and
rapidly
devaluing
local
currencies
like
Argentina
and
Nigeria.

Allaire,
however,
said
he
sees
substantial
growth
of
USDC
use
in
emerging
markets
such
as
Latin
America
and
Southeast
Asia,
especially
among
fintech
companies
servicing
local
businesses
and
households.

One
of
the
“cool
examples,”
Allaire
said,
is
that
more
local
foreign
currency
brokers
specializing
on
cross-border
payments
and
currency
conversions
leveraging
USDC
for
settling
trades
between
small
and
medium
enterprises.
Another
instance
was
an
anecdote
from
one
of
Circle’s
partners
who
told
Allaire
about
“a
multi-$100
million
energy
order
between
a
supplier
in
the
Middle
East
and
a
buyer
in
Africa”
that
was
facilitated
by
USDC.

Another
example
of
growing
USDC
adoption
as
a
payments
vehicle
is
U.S.-based
fintech
firm

Stripe
reintroducing
USDC
transactions
for
merchants
this
October.
In
the
first
24
hours,
users
from
70
countries
chose
the
USDC
payment
options,
Stripe
product
manager
Jennifer
Lee

posted
on
X.

“There’s
a
new
[company]
every
week
that
uses
USDC,
and
they
don’t
even
have
to
do
deals
with
us”
to
build
and
use
Circle’s
products,
he
said.
“The
beauty
of
what
we’ve
built
is
it’s
an
open,
public
infrastructure
for
digital
dollars
on
the
internet.”

Circle
laid
out
plans
to
go
public
earlier
this
year,
but
the
upcoming
U.S.
elections
in
November
and
the
uncertainty
about
the
next
administration’s
view
on
crypto
weighs
on
many
U.S.-based
digital
asset
firms.

Allaire
said
he
remains
committed
to
taking
the
company
public
regardless
of
who
wins
the
elections
in
November,
but
acknowledged
that
the
results
may
potentially
impact
the
timeline
when
it
could
become
reality.

“Circle
is
focused
on
building
a
highly
transparent
and
compliant
financial
infrastructure,
and
we
believe
becoming
a
publicly
traded
company
will
reinforce
that
trust
and
accountability,”
he
said.

He
emphasized
that
stablecoin
legislation
enjoys
bipartisan
support
in
the
U.S.,
and
the
Payment
Stablecoin
Act
is
at
a
very
advanced
stage.

It’s
not

just
the
U.S.
Regulating
stablecoins
is
a
top
priority
globally
and
next
year
will
be
pivotal,
Allaire
said.

“Most
major
financial
hubs
already
have
stablecoin
laws
that
are
either
on
the
books
or
are
in
consultation
or
in
the
legislature,”
he
said.
“By
the
end
of
2025,
huge
numbers
of
G20
countries
and
many
emerging
markets
will
have
stablecoin
regulation.”