Stablecoin Volume Defies Founders' Western Stronghold

Stablecoin founders seem to be concentrated in Western cities like San Francisco, New York, and London. However, the volume of stablecoin transactions paints a different picture.

A recent analysis shows that most stablecoin volume does not flow through these Western hubs. In fact, real-world stablecoin payment volume hit approximately $400 billion in 2025, with a significant 60% coming from business-to-business transactions, not retail speculation or DeFi yield farming.

The global fiat-backed stablecoin supply exceeded $273 billion by March 2026, marking a 40x increase in just six years. Meanwhile, adjusted transaction volumes grew 91% year-over-year in 2025, reaching $10.9 trillion.

Despite the dominance of Western companies like Tether and Circle, it's clear that emerging markets are driving stablecoin adoption. According to IMF estimates, Asia-Pacific and North America saw the absolute highest stablecoin flows in 2024, but when measured relative to GDP, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Caribbean showed the highest engagement.

This geographic mismatch between where stablecoins are created and where they're used has significant implications for the industry. Analyst Gaspard Lezin notes that founders building from San Francisco may optimize for US regulatory frameworks, but this can create strategic blind spots as demand surges in emerging markets with their own evolving regulations.