Citi Backs BVNK as Stablecoins Surge $45B in 3 months

The stablecoin ecosystem achieved extraordinary growth this week, with a record $45 billion supply increase over three months. Projections indicate a potential $1 trillion extraction from emerging market banks. Corporate integration accelerated across payment processors and financial services as regional expansion intensified across Africa, Latin America, and Asia. And a tier one bank just made a HUGE investment into the hottest stablecoin startup in the industry. 

Let’s dive into this week’s news!

Key Highlights

• Citi Bank Announces Strategic Investment in BVNK: The leading enterprise stablecoin infrastructure provider just secured an investment from one of the biggest financial giants: Citi Bank. 

• Stablecoin Supply Swells by Record $45B in Three Months: The stablecoin market experienced record growth, with $45 billion in supply increases over three months. Standard Chartered estimates stablecoins could extract $1 trillion from emerging market banks within three years.

• PayPal's PYUSD Reaches $1 Billion Market Cap: PayPal's PYUSD stablecoin achieved a $1 billion market capitalization through its Spark partnership.

BVNK Secures Tier 1 Bank Investor

This week, Citi Ventures made a strategic investment in BVNK, underscoring how incumbent financial institutions are leaning into enterprise-grade stablecoin infrastructure. 

This reflects the growing institutional confidence in stablecoins as a crucial element of a bank’s strategy. As regulatory clarity improves, especially with the GENIUS Act in the U.S., we know that traditional banks are no longer sitting on the sidelines but actively positioning themselves to power the next generation of digital money rails. Seeing the hard work that we’re doing at BVNK payoff like this with huge announcements is extremely gratifying, and I couldn’t be more excited about our future.

Market Growth and Institutional Adoption

The stablecoin market's record $45 billion supply increase over three months demonstrates explosive institutional and retail adoption momentum. Standard Chartered estimates stablecoins could extract $1 trillion from emerging market banks within three years, fundamentally reshaping global banking liquidity dynamics and competitive landscapes.

Tether's profitability projections potentially exceeding Saudi Aramco illustrate stablecoin issuers' extraordinary revenue generation through treasury management strategies. Although no where near as large, PayPal's PYUSD did reach a $1 billion market capitalization through Spark partnerships. 

Ripple's RLUSD approached $800 million market capitalization with new minting activity, while Cap protocol surpassed $200 million total value locked as stablecoin adoption gains traction. Brazil emerged as Latin America's leading crypto market, as stablecoins quietly forged regional dominance, addressing currency volatility.

Bitwise CIO predicted Solana will lead Wall Street stablecoin adoption, while Foresight Ventures launched a $50 million industry-first stablecoin infrastructure fund. Falcon Finance published independent quarterly audit reports confirming USDf full reserve backing (well that’s a relief!), while Sui's digital asset treasury company planns to launch two stablecoins according to market reports. 

Venezuela's 229% inflation drove "Binance dollars" to become the nation's de facto currency, demonstrating stablecoins' practical utility in hyperinflationary environments. And the Ethereum Foundation converted 1,000 ETH to stablecoins to fund research and development grants, indicating institutional treasury diversification strategies. I sure hope that wasn’t a top signal, as the Ethereum foundation has been known to time the market suspiciously well in the past. 

Corporate Integration and Product Innovation

Custom stablecoins are transforming payroll systems across corporate sectors, while Phantom Wallet announced the launch of stablecoin and payment services. SoFi doubled down on crypto plans, revealing comprehensive stablecoin details that I’m excited to learn more about. 

Stripe's CEO declared that stablecoins will force "everyone" to share yield, fundamentally challenging traditional banking deposit monopolies on interest revenue. The banks of course are very aware of this challenge, and it was all the talk during my panel at the North Dakota Banking conference last week. We’re seeing payment rails innovate in real time as Visa Direct leveraged stablecoins to unlock faster business funding, while Brex announced native stablecoin payment launches for corporate clients.

dtcpay partnered with WalletConnect to advance on-chain payments and stablecoin adoption, while LayerZero enabled cross-chain interoperability for Quantoz stablecoins EURQ and USDQ. As stablecoin payments gained ground, Triple-A added iPiD verification to address regulatory identity requirements.

Stablecoin-as-a-Service models drove growth amid liquidity concerns, while Plasma partnered with Chainlink to power stablecoin payment infrastructure. Aleo partnered with Paxos Labs to launch USAD stablecoin, demonstrating continued product innovation across blockchain platforms.

Regional Expansion and Regulatory Development

Coinbase funded New York pilot programs distributing $12,000 USDC to low-income residents, demonstrating social impact applications. Flutterwave's CEO positioned stablecoins as Africa's next financial leap, while analysis questioned whether local stablecoin systems could defeat dollar dominance before banking restrictions.

Base creator Jesse Pollak emphasized that crypto needs non-USD stablecoins for meaningful utility, highlighting the importance of currency diversification. For what it’s worth, I’m not seeing the demand for that at BVNK but it’s of course something that different use cases will require. India's Finance Minister urged nations to prepare for stablecoin integration, while Australia's securities regulator proposed expanding stablecoin distribution exemptions.

UAE's Fasset secured provisional banking licenses for stablecoin-powered Islamic banks in Malaysia, demonstrating Sharia-compliant digital currency infrastructure development. Wolfsberg Group guidance created "practical paths" for banks entering stablecoin markets, addressing institutional compliance requirements.

Bank of England Governor Bailey stated that widely used stablecoins require money-like regulation, indicating central bank recognition of systemic importance. Russia-linked stablecoin A7A5 sponsored Token2049 despite Singapore sanctions, highlighting some interesting geopolitical tensions in the stablecoin corner of the industry. 

Streamex Corporation announced $100 million in pre-sales for GLDY gold-backed stablecoins offering 4% yields, while OpenZeppelin partnered with ADI Foundation to secure dirham-backed stablecoin infrastructure.

This was a fun one, always love seeing BVNK snag a big headline so thanks for indulging me :) Stay tuned for next week's issue as we continue tracking this transformative landscape and don’t hesitate to email me if you’d like to learn more. 

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.