Stablecoin Founders Cling to Western Roots While Global Demand Booms

The founders of most stablecoins are concentrated in Western cities such as San Francisco, New York, and London. However, this contradicts where the majority of stablecoin transactions take place.

According to data from a16z's ecosystem maps, there is a significant mismatch between where stablecoins are created and where they're actually used. In 2025, real-world stablecoin payment volume reached approximately $400 billion, with 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, a 40x increase in six years. Adjusted transaction volumes grew 91% year-over-year in 2025, reaching $10.9 trillion.

Tether's USDT dominates in emerging markets such as Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Caribbean, while Circle's USDC tends to capture more share in advanced economies where regulatory compliance and institutional trust carry more weight.