zerohash Releases The 2026 Stablecoin Momentum Report, Demonstrating Stablecoins Have Become Core Financial Infrastructure

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- zerohash, the leading infrastructure platform powering stablecoins and digital assets at regulated financial institutions, today announced the release of The 2026 Stablecoin Momentum Report, a global research report examining how stablecoins have moved decisively into meaningful global, financial infrastructure.

Drawing on zerohash’s platform data and proprietary analysis, the report offers one of the most comprehensive snapshots to date as to how stablecoins are being used in practice and what will define their next phase of growth.

The findings show that 2025 marked a year of material acceleration, not just in scale, but in how and where stablecoins are utilized. Once associated primarily with crypto trading, stablecoins are now embedded across use cases including brokerage funding, payments, cross-border settlement, global payroll, and treasury operations.

Within the report, zerohash introduces a proprietary metric, “Stablecoin-Ready Accounts” (SRAs). This metric captures the number of consumer accounts on mainstream platforms where stablecoin functionality has been or is being enabled, and zerohash estimates there are more than 1.4 billion SRAs globally, before accounting for overlap.

Select findings include:

• Stablecoin usage on zerohash grew rapidly in 2025, with the number of customers actively transacting with stablecoins increasing 146% year over year.
  
  • Inbound RFIs for stablecoin-related programs increased 5X from 2024 to 2025.
• Transaction frequency surged, with stablecoin transaction count up 208% YoY, indicating repeat, operational usage rather than episodic activity.
• Economic impact expanded significantly, as total stablecoin transaction volume measured in U.S. dollars increased 690% YoY, while average transaction size rose 157%, signaling adoption in higher-value financial flows.
• Global adoption accelerated, with active stablecoin users on zerohash spanning 106 countries in 2025, up from 70 the year prior. Non-U.S. customers grew 422% year over year, underscoring stablecoins’ role in cross-border finance.
• Resilience through market volatility, as active stablecoin customers increased 55% from Q4 2024 to Q4 2025, even during a period of broader crypto market softness.
  
  

Beyond platform data, zerohash’s analysis of public disclosures highlights a sharp increase in institutional attention. Mentions of “stablecoin” in SEC EDGAR filings rose more than 290% from 2024 to 2025, while global press mentions increased over 100% during the same period, evidence that stablecoins are now firmly on the agenda of executives and policy makers.

“Stablecoins have moved past the question of whether they work and into the reality of how they scale,” said Edward Woodford, CEO and Founder of zerohash. “The data shows businesses using stablecoins to run meaningful financial operations: funding accounts, settling payments, and moving capital globally. In 2026, the focus shifts to execution: building infrastructure that can operate across borders, regulatory regimes, and use cases reliably and at scale.”

The report identifies regulation as a critical inflection point. In the United States, clearer guidance has enabled wider adoption and an acceleration of innovation. zerohash has operated in the United States since 2017 and operates in all fifty U.S. states. In Europe, the rollout of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) has created the first region-wide framework for stablecoin issuance and operation. zerohash received its MiCAR authorization in November 2025.

The following industry and ecosystem leaders contributed insights to the report:

• Paolo Ardoino, CEO, Tether
• Steve Everett, Director of Stablecoin Payment Partnerships at PayPal
• Bo Hines, CEO, Tether USA
• Jack McDonald, SVP of Stablecoins, Ripple
• Kash Razzaghi, Chief Commercial Officer, Circle
  
  

The 2026 Stablecoin Momentum Report also outlines what comes next. As stablecoins move deeper into core financial workflows, the report outlines that success will be defined less by demand and more by execution: compliance, licensing coverage, operational controls, and the ability to abstract complexity across borders and systems.

“At zerohash, our focus has always been on making stablecoins work quietly and reliably inside the financial system,” Woodford added. “The mission hasn’t changed, but the moment has. Stablecoins are becoming embedded, invisible infrastructure, and 2026 will be about who can operate them safely, globally, and at scale.”

The report debuts at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos and is available in both digital and print formats. To access The 2026 Stablecoin Momentum Report, visit: https://zerohash.com/resources/the-2026-stablecoin-momentum-report.

About zerohash

zerohash is the leading infrastructure provider for crypto, stablecoin, and tokenized assets. Its API and embeddable dev-kit enable innovators to easily launch solutions across cross-border payments, commerce, trading, remittance, payroll, tokenization, and on/off-ramps. The company has a global regulatory footprint across the EU, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda, and the U.S., and operates regulated entities in 51 U.S. jurisdictions. For more information, visit zerohash.com.

Contact: [email protected]

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