Why stablecoins become all-weather foreign exchange infrastructure

Cross-border payments are becoming increasingly digital, but most of the financial infrastructure that supports them still follows traditional banking and settlement times.

stablecoins provide a different model. U.S. dollar-backed tokens like USDT and USDC can be moved and settled around the clock on the blockchain network, creating a channel for obtaining U.S. dollar-denominated liquidity even when traditional banking systems are shut down.

This difference is becoming increasingly apparent in the data. Research found that weekend activities have steadily accounted for approximately 20% of weekly adjusted stablecoin trading volume over the years. In other words, a significant portion of stablecoin activity occurs precisely when settlement on many traditional financial tracks is not possible.

stablecin payments themselves are also growing. Data tracked by research institutions shows that from January 2023 to February 2025, the payment and settlement amount of stablecoin reached US$136 billion. By August 2025, the annualized rate of such payments has reached nearly US$122 billion, and the monthly transaction volume has reached approximately US$10.2 billion.

Philippines: A typical case

The Philippines provides a case with great reference value. According to data from the Central Bank of the Philippines, in 2025, cash remitted by overseas Filipino workers through banks and regulated financial institutions reached US$35.63 billion, an increase of 3.3% over the previous year. This created a huge market in which the ability to continuously convert U.S. dollars into Philippine pesos was of real value.

A cryptocurrency exchange and e-wallet in the Philippines licensed by the country's central bank is building liquidity between the USDT and USDC and the peso around this demand. The company said its peso order book currently handles approximately $100 million in USDT and USDC transactions per day.

The company's CEO said: "The bigger difference is at the foreign exchange level. Outside the United States, there is no one-to-one exchange. Prices are constantly changing, and with it comes uncertainty: Is this the right price and how many transactions can I actually execute at this price?"

This difference is particularly evident outside normal bank hours. He said: "Over the weekend, we saw stablecoin trading volume higher than during weekdays because banks were closed. There is no exchange rate on weekends." For money transfer companies, this is a practical issue. If a money transfer provider processes a transfer from the United States to the Philippines on Saturday, it still needs to determine how much pesos the recipient should receive. In the absence of an enforceable foreign exchange price, providers may need to consider potential currency fluctuations before regular markets open.

A continuously traded USDT or USDC/peso market provides another avenue for payment providers to obtain enforceable local currency liquidity outside of regular foreign exchange trading hours.

This is no longer just a theory. A money transfer company partnered with the above-mentioned cryptocurrency exchange to launch a money transfer solution in early 2026 to convert U.S. dollars or Canadian legal tender into stable currencies for transfer, and then remit Philippine pesos to e-wallets or related bank accounts. The two companies say this structure enables near-real-time settlement.

The composition of stablecoin liquidity is also changing. According to the CEO of the above-mentioned exchange, USDC currently accounts for about 40% of the platform's stablecoin trading volume, while the market was almost entirely dominated by USDT two years ago. He attributed the change in part to U.S. companies and financial institutions using USDC for overseas payments.

The "all-weather" layer of cross-border payments

This development is not limited to the Philippines. In Nigeria, the International Monetary Fund pointed out that restrictions on access to foreign exchange are a factor that increases the relative attractiveness of stablecoins in cross-border transactions. The organization pointed out that stablecoins can reduce reliance on correspondent banking networks and intermediaries and have the potential to enable faster and cheaper international transfers.

Cost gaps remain large in some remittance channels. The same report quoted World Bank data as saying that the average cost of international remittances of US$200 worldwide is 6.49%, and in sub-Saharan Africa it is as high as 8.78%. However, the organization also warned that the final cost of stablecoin transactions still depends on network fees and the cost of conversion between fiat currencies and digital assets.

This does not mean that stablecoins are about to replace global foreign exchange markets. Traditional banks continue to provide deep liquidity, large-value trading capabilities, and regulated financial infrastructure that the stablecoin market has not yet been stably matched. Instead, a more immediate role is emerging outside the system: an "all-weather" layer used to transfer dollar liquidity across borders and increasingly convert it into local currency.

About 20% of stablecoin activity occurs over weekends, which illustrates the most tangible manifestation of this difference. Cross-border payments will not stop because of bank closures, and the infrastructure supporting these payments is beginning to reflect this reality.