Stablecoins at Work

Stablecoins are used every day to move money across borders, pay remote workers, and settle transactions when traditional payment systems are slow or costly. Often, they operate quietly in the background, solving practical problems rather than attracting attention.

In the first part of this series, we focused on the foundations of stablecoins: what they are, how they are structured, who issues them, how large and concentrated the market has become, and how regulators in the European Union and the United States are approaching them.

This article shifts the focus from structure to use. It looks at how stablecoins are applied in practice today, through concrete examples across payments, remittances, payroll, and decentralized finance, and explains why they are adopted in specific contexts.

Cross-Border Payments and Remittances

One of the clearest real-world use cases for stablecoins is international money movement. Traditional cross-border transfers rely on correspondent banking networks, often involving multiple intermediaries, time zone differences, currency conversions, and layered compliance checks. As a result, transactions can take several days to settle and may involve significant fees – particularly for smaller payments.

Stablecoins offer an alternative settlement path. Instead of routing through multiple banks and fixed operating windows, value can move directly over blockchain networks, settling within minutes. A dollar-denominated stablecoin such as AUSD, USDC or USDT allows the sender to transfer a digital representation of U.S. dollars globally without relying on the traditional banking chain. The recipient can then hold the stablecoin, convert it into local currency, or use it within digital markets.

This model is not limited to individual remittances. It is increasingly relevant for multinational companies managing liquidity across jurisdictions. For example, a company with subsidiaries across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa may face narrow settlement windows when moving funds between entities through traditional banks – whereas stablecoins can enable transfers and internal settlements to occur continuously, with greater control and without the same degree of interbank coordination.

The momentum behind blockchain-based settlement extends beyond public stablecoins. Traditional financial institutions are building similar solutions: JPMorgan's JPM Coin enables instant cross-border transfers for its enterprise clients within the bank's network, while banks like Standard Chartered and Societe Generale have explored similar initiatives. This convergence – open stablecoins serving anyone, permissioned solutions serving enterprise clients – demonstrates that the technology is transitioning from experimental to essential.

Why it matters:

• Faster settlement, often within minutes rather than several business days.

• Lower transaction costs, especially for smaller-value transfers.

• Greater accessibility, particularly in regions with limited banking infrastructure or currency volatility.

  
  

While stablecoins do not eliminate the need for compliance or currency conversion, they introduce a different settlement layer – one that can operate continuously and globally.

Merchant Payments and Everyday Commerce

In regions facing currency volatility or limited access to stable fiat rails, stablecoins are increasingly being used for everyday transactions. A recent development in Latin America illustrates this shift. Through integrations such as Opera’s MiniPay, users can spend USDT at local merchants in countries like Brazil and Argentina by scanning standard QR codes connected to widely used payment systems like PIX and Mercado Pago. Behind the scenes, the stablecoin is automatically converted into local currency, allowing merchants to receive pesos or reais without directly handling crypto.

This model enables stablecoins to function not only as digital dollars held in wallets, but as a practical medium of exchange embedded within existing payment infrastructure.

Why it matters:

• Everyday usability, extending stablecoins beyond trading or remittances.

• Reduced friction, as merchants receive local currency while users pay in stablecoins.

• Greater accessibility, particularly in markets with inflation or limited banking access.

Paying Globally with Stablecoins

Stablecoins are increasingly used to pay freelancers and international contractors, offering a faster and cheaper alternative to traditional cross-border payroll systems. Pantera Capital collected data shows that nearly 10% of global workers reported being paid in crypto in 2024, with stablecoins like USDC and USDT representing the vast majority of these payments.

This approach delivers clear benefits: near-instant settlement, lower fees compared with traditional wires, and a dollar-pegged pay instrument that reduces exposure to volatile currencies.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and the Rise of Machine Payments

Stablecoins are a very important part of decentralized finance. They provide liquidity in trading pools, serve as collateral for loans, and offer a stable store of value in otherwise volatile crypto markets. On decentralized lending platforms such as Aave and Compound, users can supply stablecoins like USDC, USDT, and DAI to earn interest or borrow against other assets – making stablecoins a key source of liquidity and earning opportunities in DeFi.

This functionality makes stablecoins a foundational piece of the Web3 financial stack. They are not just useful in narrow niches but integral to decentralized markets, supporting lending, borrowing, and trading in ways that would be far less efficient without price-stable tokens.

At the same time, a new layer of use is emerging – one that goes beyond human-to-human transactions.

Protocols such as x402 are exploring how stablecoins can enable native, on-demand payments directly over the web. Instead of subscriptions, invoices, or advertising models, digital services could be accessed through small, automatic payments made per request, per action, or per second of usage. In this model, stablecoins act as the settlement layer for real-time micropayments.

This becomes particularly relevant in the context of AI agents and automation. Experimental applications such as OpenClaw are already demonstrating how autonomous agents can request services, access APIs, and complete transactions programmatically. For such systems to function independently, they require a payment mechanism that is programmable, instant, and globally accessible – characteristics that stablecoins naturally provide.

In this sense, stablecoins are not only supporting decentralized finance – they are beginning to enable machine-to-machine commerce. As automation and AI-driven workflows expand, stablecoin-based micropayments could become a foundational component of how digital services are consumed and monetized.

Perspective from the Co-Founder

Stablecoins are not just a “future idea” – they are already solving real problems that traditional finance struggles with today.

“Stablecoins are transforming how value moves across borders – not by promising a future vision of finance, but by being useful today where traditional rails fail,” says Andrius Bartminas, Co-Founder and EVP of Super How Group.

From delayed cross-border transfers to high-fee international payroll, businesses face friction every day. Stablecoins cut through that friction, enabling near-instant settlement, lower costs, and transparent tracking of funds. As Andrius Bartminas emphasizes, “For companies with global suppliers or distributed teams, stablecoins offer a programmable and transparent payment layer that reduces cost and friction compared to legacy systems. They also open the door to new ways of working, enabling a better and more seamless user experience for both businesses and their partners.”

In short, stablecoins are no longer an experimental crypto tool – they are becoming an essential part of modern operational finance, helping companies move money efficiently, reliably, and across borders in ways that traditional systems simply cannot match.

The Practical Impact of Stablecoins

Stablecoins are not confined to trading charts or theoretical papers. In practice today, they:

• Enable faster, cheaper cross-border transfers and remittances, especially where traditional payments are slow or inaccessible.

• Support merchant adoption and real-world spending in regions with currency instability.

• Provide new tooling for payroll and micro-payments across global workforces.

• Power decentralized financial services and liquidity markets.

As both infrastructure and regulatory clarity evolve, these use cases are likely to expand – not as abstract possibilities, but as tangible tools in global finance.