Stellar and the Stablecoin Moment: Infrastructure for Enterprise-Grade Payments

In just a few years, stablecoins have gone from a niche crypto experiment to one of the most important innovations in global finance. With over $250 billion in circulation, more than $1 trillion in monthly transaction volume and adoption by giants like PayPal, Stripe and JPMorgan, they are rapidly becoming a mainstream payment option. Stablecoins now process more monthly volume than Visa and PayPal combined, with $33 trillion compared to Visa’s $13 trillion. Their use cases also span corporate treasury management, cross-border payroll, e-commerce, tokenized money markets and beyond.

This shift is about more than just blockchain hype. It’s about being able to solve real business problems. Cross-border payments that once took three days now settle in seconds. Transaction costs that averaged 6.5% are falling below 1%. In countries facing high inflation or limited banking access, stablecoins are providing a lifeline. And with regulatory clarity arriving in major markets, enterprises and payment service providers (PSPs) are moving quickly to integrate them into their workflows.

For businesses looking to leverage stablecoins at scale, one blockchain stands out: Stellar.

Built for the next generation of money

Stellar was designed from day one for real-world payments, with a focus on speed, cost-efficiency and compliance. While many blockchains have retrofitted themselves for financial applications, the architecture of Stellar has always been optimized for moving value securely and at scale. Whether it’s through stablecoins, tokenized treasury bills or fiat-backed assets, the Stellar network has proven to be amongst the best blockchains for payment applications.

At the heart of the network is the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP), a transparent, incentive-free mechanism that finalizes transactions in seconds with minimal energy use. Unlike proof-of-work chains, the SCP provides predictable, low-cost performance while maintaining resilience against network disruptions. Over the last decade, Stellar has delivered 99.99% uptime, processing billions in value without major downtime.

But speed alone isn’t enough for enterprises. Security and scalability are equally important. With Protocol 23 and other upgrades rolling out in 2025, Stellar is on track to handle up to 5,000 transactions per second, which is on par with major card networks in terms of performance. Its smart contract platform, Soroban, is designed with security as a first principle, minimizing attack surfaces while enabling programmable compliance logic.

Compliance by design

For enterprises, the biggest barrier to blockchain adoption is more regulatory than technical in nature. Stellar tackles this head-on with compliance features embedded at the protocol level.

From built-in KYC flows to jurisdiction-aware asset controls, the network allows issuers and payment providers to enforce rules without compromising speed or user experience. Compliance logic can be written directly into smart contracts, enabling automated restrictions, monitoring and reporting.

This design matters because the regulatory landscape for stablecoins is finally coming into focus. The GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, set strict rules for U.S.-issued payment stablecoins, including 1:1 asset backing, federally supervised issuers, monthly audits and real-time redemption rights. Networks that can embed these requirements natively will have a significant advantage in onboarding regulated financial institutions.

The ramp advantage

Another challenge for enterprises is connecting digital assets with the existing financial system. Stellar has addressed this with the largest network of on- and off-ramps of any blockchain, boasting more than 475,000 access points worldwide via the Anchor Platform.

This infrastructure makes it possible to move seamlessly between stablecoins and fiat currencies, whether that’s cashing out in a local currency at a physical location, depositing directly into a bank account or using a card linked to a digital wallet. For PSPs building bespoke enterprise solutions, this means they can layer stablecoin payments onto existing infrastructure without having to rebuild the rails. It’s also a reason why organizations as diverse as the UNHCR, Franklin Templeton, Airtm and MoneyGram have adopted Stellar for payments and asset issuance.

In total, the network has processed more than $23 billion in real-world asset payment volume.

A network trusted by institutions

If there was any lingering doubt about the role of Stellar in enterprise payments, 2025 put it to rest. In June, PayPal announced that PYUSD, its fiat-backed stablecoin, will launch on Stellar. Days later, Visa revealed it was adding Stellar to its stablecoin settlement platform, alongside Ethereum, Solana and Avalanche.

The significance of Visa’s move can’t be overstated. As a company whose traditional network processes trillions in payments each year, Visa’s integration of Stellar sends a strong signal to banks, fintechs and PSPs: This is infrastructure they can trust. The combination of low fees, high throughput and regulatory readiness makes Stellar an attractive choice for institutions seeking to expand stablecoin settlement capabilities.

Ryan McInerney, Visa’s CEO, put it simply: “We’ve been embracing stablecoins for years, preparing for this moment.” With Stellar in the mix, Visa’s platform now supports four major stablecoins (USDC, PYUSD, USDG, EURC) across four blockchains, giving its clients flexibility in how and where they settle payments.

Stablecoins at enterprise scale

The 2025 Messari State of Stablecoins report captures just how quickly stablecoins are maturing into a core part of the financial system:

• $250 billion market cap milestone reached as clear regulations unlocked new issuance.
• 40% of U.S. ACH network volume now matched by onchain stablecoin settlement.
• 10% of the US-to-Mexico remittance corridor already runs over stablecoin rails, thanks to players like Bitso Business.
• $7 billion in tokenized money market funds launched in just 18 months, offering 24/7 transferable T-bill yield.

For enterprises, these numbers aren’t just impressive. They’re a signal that the infrastructure, liquidity and compliance frameworks needed to adopt stablecoins at scale are finally in place. And with the deep ramp network, institutional partnerships and enterprise-grade performance, the barriers to integration on Stellar are lower than ever.

Why Stellar stands out

Of course, other blockchains can move stablecoins as well. Stellar moves them in a way that makes sense for enterprise adoption:

• Predictable costs: Low, stable transaction fees that scale with volume.
• Performance: Throughput that can rival card networks with near-instant settlement.
• Security: Over a decade of uptime and security-first protocol design.
• Compliance: Native KYC/AML support and programmable regulatory controls.
• Interoperability: Global ramp coverage that bridges fiat and digital seamlessly.

For PSPs and fintechs building for high-value clients, the combination of these factors means they can deliver stablecoin-powered solutions without sacrificing compliance, performance or user trust.

The road ahead

We are entering a new era where stablecoins are no longer just a crypto product. Instead, they’ve become and are continuing to be a competitive advantage for enterprises. Whether it’s lowering transaction costs, accelerating settlement or expanding into new markets, stablecoins offer tangible, measurable benefits.

Stellar provides the foundation to unlock those benefits at scale. From its compliance-first architecture to its proven network performance and global accessibility, it’s a blockchain built for the realities of modern finance.

As PYUSD and other major stablecoins go live on Stellar, and as Visa ramps up its settlement operations on the network, we can expect to see more institutions making Stellar their stablecoin home. For fintechs, SMBs and PSPs, the question is no longer if stablecoins will reshape payments. It’s how quickly you can integrate them into your workflows.

To explore how your business can leverage stablecoins on Stellar this summer, please visit stellar.org/stablesummer