BlackRock Chooses Stablecoins Over Bitcoin

This week: BlackRock prioritized stablecoins over Bitcoin for payments while Visa declared the sector ready for real-world takeoff. And Bolivia's historic integration of its banking system alongside comprehensive regional expansion demonstrates that stablecoins mainstream adoption continues to accelerate. 

Key Highlights

• BlackRock Sees Stablecoins Ahead of Bitcoin Payments: BlackRock positioned stablecoins as more viable than Bitcoin for mainstream payment adoption, representing significant institutional validation from the world's largest asset manager and prioritizing digital-dollar utility over cryptocurrency speculation use cases.

• Visa Sees Stablecoins Poised For Real-World Takeoff: Visa declared stablecoins ready for real-world adoption at scale, marking the payment network’s most recent endorsement of digital-dollar infrastructure.

• Bolivia Makes Historic Move to Integrate Crypto and Stablecoins Into Banking System: Bolivia became the latest nation to integrate cryptocurrencies and stablecoins into its national banking system, demonstrating Latin American leadership in digital currency adoption amid economic challenges.

Institutional Adoption and Strategic Positioning

Analysts are showcasing how BlackRock, JPMorgan, and HSBC are quietly attempting to disrupt traditional stablecoin models through yield-bearing innovations, with BlackRock explicitly positioning stablecoins ahead of Bitcoin for payment applications. Some are calling this a strategic pivot but my own view is that this was always the game plan for the “blockchain not Bitcoin crowd”. Asset management for digital assets was the battering ram to get institutions interested in blockchain, the long-term play is tokenization of all assets not just dollars (but I digress, this isn’t an opinion newsletter - unless you’re looking for that kind of thing! Let me know ;)

Visa declared stablecoins are poised for real-world takeoff as they expand settlement capabilities across Central Europe, the Middle East, and Africa through Aquanow partnerships. This comprehensive geographic expansion demonstrates traditional payment network recognition of the necessity of stablecoin infrastructure. When the card schemes get involved, it de-risks the payment rail in the eyes of traditional FIs. 

Here’s a fun one: Cross River Bank launched stablecoin payment offering. In fact, yours truly actually played a small part in this one. Prior to joining BVNK I spent 3 years at Cross River bank on their digital assets team building an in-house blockchain product and it is now finally seeing the light of day! You may recall that the prior administration in the US was quite hostile to digital assets so Cross River shelved a very similar product a few years back due to timing. But now this is an especially exciting time for my friends at Cross River, congrats to the entire team! 

U.S. Bancorp is exploring stablecoin issuance on the Stellar blockchain. Deutsche Börse secured its third euro stablecoin amid broader European adoption, while three banking projects accelerated the launch of a European stablecoin. I’m still skeptical of non-USD stablecoins.

And then more one: Grab partnered with StraitsX to explore Web3 wallets and stablecoin settlement for Asian payment markets.

Regional Expansion and Payment Infrastructure

Filipino remote workers gained stablecoin payroll access through PDAX and Toku partnerships, addressing cross-border payment inefficiencies for the nation's substantial overseas workforce. Analysts are highlighting how stablecoins serve as global lifelines when local currencies decline, validating the case for digital dollar adoption in emerging markets experiencing monetary instability. But since you’re reading this newsletter, you already knew that. 

Bitget Wallet connected stablecoins to over 80 banks across Nigeria and Mexico, while USDC flooded into the XDC Network as users chased low-cost settlement infrastructure. Kyrgyzstan debuted gold-backed USDKG stablecoins, representing innovative sovereign digital currency approaches combining precious metal reserves with blockchain technology.

DeFi Technologies announced that QCAD has become Canada's first compliant CAD stablecoin through Stablecorp, marking a significant regulatory milestone for domestic digital currency infrastructure. Bolivia made historic moves to integrate crypto and stablecoins into its national banking system, joining Venezuela and other Latin American nations that are embracing digital currency alternatives. Amid geopolitical uncertainty this seems like a smart move on their part. 

And in another part of the work, KakaoBank moved forward with plans for a Korean won-backed stablecoin despite regulatory scrutiny. Now let’s talk regulatory and technical developments.

Regulatory Framework and Technical Development

UK crime investigations linked stablecoin transactions to Russian sanctions evasion (no surprise there). Hong Kong established new capital requirements of HK$25 million for stablecoin issuers, raising entry barriers while attempting to ensure financial stability.

The European Central Bank warned stablecoins could siphon eurozone bank deposits, once again echoing the central concern that central banks have about competitive threats to traditional banking deposit bases (see what I did there with the alliteration? Alright - thanks for noticing :). CFTC Acting Chair detailed progress on crypto market structure while highlighting tokenization and stablecoin regulatory initiatives.

Korean lawmakers reviewed three rival stablecoin bills advancing toward comprehensive regulation, while the Financial Services Commission's standing commissioner warned that stablecoins pose risks to foreign exchange and money laundering. This regulatory debate reflects tensions between encouraging innovation and concerns about financial stability.

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority added stablecoin cohorts to regulatory sandboxes, providing controlled environments for innovation testing under supervisory oversight.

Technical development faced challenges as MegaETH's USDm stablecoin pre-deposit launch encountered turbulence due to outages and capacity flip-flops, though the project proceeded with the deployment of bridge infrastructure. These growing pains demonstrate scaling challenges as new platforms enter competitive stablecoin markets.

Curious to learn more about stablecoin infrastructure for your enterprise? Reply to this newsletter or send me an email at [email protected] to learn how BVNK’s payment platform can unlock faster settlement and global access with stablecoins. You can also follow me on X for more insights.