Topic
The use of blockchain rails for consumer and business payments, including remittances, card products and payroll.
Coinbase and Marqeta announced on October 16 an expanded deal for stablecoin-backed enterprise cards, with Coinbase handling custody and Base settlement. Merchants see a normal card transaction, so the stablecoin work falls to the two providers.
Reality
FinteqHub says the share of companies settling directly in crypto fell from 62% to 39% between the first halves of 2025 and 2026. Its definition of direct excludes conversion and routing, so part of the drop may be payments moving into routed stablecoin settlement.
Reality
Standard Chartered moved its $2 trillion stablecoin forecast from 2028 to 2030 as supply stalled near $309 billion. Geoffrey Kendrick, its head of digital assets research, ties the stall to weak crypto markets, and Allium data show trading still outweighs payments.
Reality
Pi Network's October 8 plan to explore Open USD payments and Pioneer rewards specifies no requirement to buy or hold PI, a coin now near $0.0835. Dollar payments could grow activity on Pi while demand for the coin waits on reward and settlement terms the team has not published.
Reality
Citi is adding Coinbase-run stablecoin checkout to its merchant services, and one report says the bank will hold digital dollars that earn 3.75%. Whether that reward reaches Citi's customers decides if a major bank has joined the side of the yield fight its industry opposes.
Reality
Google's Agent Payments Protocol makes an agent's authority to pay a cryptographically signed mandate holding price limits, timing and other conditions. Whoever drafts those conditions is setting spend policy.
Reality
RWA.xyz's count puts US T-bills at $15bn of a $46.2bn total and five assets at about 70% of it. Other trackers stop at $38bn, so the Treasury share of onchain finance moves seven points on the choice of tracker.
Reality