In 2024, crypto adoption in Venezuela surged by 110%, with stablecoins accounting for 9% of remittances sent to the country in 2023, illustrating their critical role in high-inflation economies.

The growth of stablecoins signifies a structural change in finance, with their utility beyond yield making them resilient across different interest rate cycles and increasingly dominant in regional economies.

Stablecoins now represent 60% of crypto transactions in Argentina and Brazil, highlighting their expanding influence in Latin American markets.

Experts view the stablecoin surge as a fundamental shift in global money movement, addressing issues like settlement inefficiency and enabling instant cross-border liquidity.

Emerging market authorities are actively developing Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), upgrading payment infrastructure, and promoting digital literacy to manage risks and foster financial inclusion, while private sector initiatives expand stablecoin adoption.

The report anticipates that global stablecoin adoption will accelerate as payment systems and banking activities increasingly shift from traditional banks to the non-bank sector.

While the outflows from traditional deposits are significant, they are estimated to account for only about 2% of total deposits in vulnerable economies, indicating a substantial but not catastrophic impact.

However, if local authorities fail to adapt swiftly to the stablecoin trend, emerging-market banks could face prolonged downturns during what some are calling the 'stablecoin summer'.

Standard Chartered predicts that by 2028, up to $1 trillion could shift from emerging market bank deposits into stablecoins, driven by their appeal as low-friction, dollar-pegged assets outside traditional banking systems.

Countries with high inflation, weak reserves, and large remittance inflows are particularly vulnerable to deposit flight into stablecoins, with some nations like Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka at higher risk.

Stablecoins, backed by cash and short-term Treasurys, provide near-instant access to U.S. dollars, effectively serving as modern savings accounts for populations in high-inflation or low-trust economies.

This shift could mark a new era in global finance, where liquidity moves at internet speed and stability depends as much on code as on traditional policy frameworks.

Despite regulatory efforts like the US GENIUS Act, which aims to curb stablecoin risks by prohibiting yield payments, adoption is expected to grow due to their attractiveness as safe digital stores of value.