Stablecoins Surpass $1.1T in Trading Volume for TradFi-Linked Perpetuals

The stablecoin market is experiencing significant growth, driven by its increasing adoption as a settlement rail for perpetual contracts tied to traditional financial assets. According to Binance Research, stablecoin-settled perpetual contracts linked to TradFi generated over $1.1 trillion in trading volume in the first half of 2026.

This represents roughly 11% of all crypto perpetual trading volume across the first five months of 2026, indicating a substantial shift towards incorporating stablecoins into derivatives activity. The report highlights that stablecoins are no longer just temporary trading tools but are increasingly being used as long-term portfolio holdings, with 30% of Binance exchange users now holding more than half of their portfolios in stablecoins, up from 4% in 2020.

The growth is not limited to derivatives; the report also notes that payment-related activity is on the rise. Global stablecoin market capitalization stands at around $311 billion, with adjusted stablecoin volume reaching a record $1.79 trillion in June, according to Visa's Allium-powered stablecoin dashboard.

The Latin American region has seen significant growth in stablecoin usage for cross-border payments, with the share of Binance stablecoin transfer users more than doubling to 38% in 2026 from 17% in 2025. This trend is reflected in other exchanges as well, such as Bitso, where US dollar-pegged stablecoins represented 40% of crypto asset purchases on its platform in 2025.