90% of institutions ‘taking action’ on stablecoins: Fireblocks survey

A new report from enterprise-grade digital assets platform Fireblocks shows that 90% of institutional players are either using or exploring the use of stablecoins in their operations.

The report, published May 15, surveyed 295 executives across traditional banks, financial institutions, fintech companies and payment gateways. Nearly half of respondents (49%) said they already use stablecoins in payments, while 23% are conducting pilot tests, and another 18% are in the planning phase.’

Only 10% of institutions surveyed said they are undecided about stablecoin adoption.

“The stablecoin race has become a matter of avoiding obsolescence as customer demand accelerates and use cases mature,” Fireblocks wrote in the report. 

Current stablecoin adoption among institutional respondents. Source: Fireblocks

Traditional banks prioritize cross-border payments for stablecoin use

As traditional cross-border systems are hampered by higher costs, delays and other inefficiencies, stablecoins have emerged as a strategic solution in emerging markets’ business-to-business (B2B) settings. 

The report found that financial institutions, particularly traditional banks, cited cross-border payments as their top priority when using stablecoins. Banks use stablecoins to regain a competitive advantage, reduce friction and meet customer expectations. 

The report found that 58% of traditional banks use stablecoins for cross-border payments, while 28% use the assets to accept payments. Twelve percent of banks use stablecoins to optimize their liquidity, while 9% use them in merchant settlement. Another 9% use them in B2B invoicing. 

Fireblocks said banks see stablecoins as a “path to modernization.” It said that since the assets are fiat-pegged, it’s easier to integrate them into existing treasury workflows. In addition, stablecoins also offer a lever to reclaim market share from financial technology companies and reduce capital lock-up.

Stablecoin use case for traditional banks. Source: Fireblocks

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Speed is cited as the top benefit for stablecoin use

The survey results showed that banks use stablecoins to regain cross-border volume while maintaining existing infrastructure. Meanwhile, financial technology firms and payment gateways use digital assets to gain margin and revenue. 

Top cited benefits of stablecoin use. Source: Fireblocks

Among the benefits cited by survey respondents, faster settlement came in at the top, with 48% of participants citing it as a benefit for stablecoin use. Meanwhile, the least cited benefit was lower transaction costs. 

Other benefits included greater transparency, better liquidity management, integrated payment flows and enhanced security. 

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