Stablecoins were supposed to change payments. They didn’t.
new Federal Reserve Research shows that the vast majority of stablecoins do not flow through the real economy. They either sit idle or trade within cryptocurrency markets instead of using them to pay for goods and services.
A Payment system research summary It was issued on Friday (April 10) by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City How stablecoins are actually usedbased on data across industry platforms. The clear conclusion here is that payments are barely recorded, while most activity remains inactive or restricted to financial infrastructure rather than trade.
Payments remain a marginal use case
The analysis estimates that less than 1% of stablecoins are used for payments, based on transaction volume and inferred speed. By contrast, roughly half of all stablecoins are deployed within cryptocurrency finance, including exchanges, lending protocols, and related infrastructure.
The rest is split between transfers, which account for about 29% and largely reflect high-value treasury or cross-border movements, and dormant balances, which account for more than a fifth of the supply. These dormant holdings reside in inactive wallets or serve as a form of digital savings, indicating that a significant share of the market is not engaged in any transaction activity.
PYMNTS DATA: Benefit outweighs execution
These findings reinforce a pattern documented by PYMNTS Intelligence across corporate finance functions. In the March 2026 data book, “Stablecoins Gain: Why CFOs See More Promise from Cryptocurrencies,” interest among executives continues to outpace the actual deployment.
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More than four in 10 mid-market companies reported that they had at least discussed or tested stablecoins, yet only 13% reported actual use. The gap between awareness and implementation underscores the ongoing hesitation among financial sector leaders. Stablecoins are useful, but they are not yet included in standard financial operations.
The data also helps explain the dormant balances identified in the Fed’s research. Companies do not reject stablecoins. Instead, they are holding back until the operational status becomes clearer, especially as they consider how to integrate these tools with treasury systems and payment workflows.
Interoperability and integration
The Kansas City Fed report cited structural reasons for the delay. A notable share of stablecoins is tied to bridging protocols that move assets across blockchains, an activity that exists because the systems do not yet communicate seamlessly.
This lack of interoperability is a widespread limitation. Payment systems rely on reliability and compatibility with existing infrastructure. When value must move across fragmented networks, the operational burden increases and adoption slows.
PYMNTS intelligence findings are consistent with this limitation with more than 40% citing integration with existing financial systems as a major challenge.
Combined, the Fed estimates and PYMNTS data describe a market that remains in a holding pattern. Stablecoins are widely visible and discussed, yet they are not integrated into the current landscape. Interoperability must be improved so assets can move across networks without friction. Integration with enterprise systems should become clearer, allowing treasury teams to integrate stablecoins without imposing operational pressures. Regulatory clarity must also be enhanced to give companies a specific framework to adopt.
Without these developments, those dormant balances identified by the Fed will likely continue. It represents capital allocated for potential use but not yet linked to consistent payment activity.
