In a powerful critique of traditional finance, Solana founder Anatoly Yakovenko has highlighted how stablecoins are exposing fundamental inefficiencies in the banking system. Citing a real-world test case, Yakovenko revealed that during the sale of 150,000 Saga phones, credit card payments incurred a 2% fee and took 60-90 days to settle, while stablecoin transactions had zero fees and were settled immediately. "As a merchant, we had to pay a fee on the credit cards about 2%. And we didn't have to pay that fee on the stablecoin part," Yakovenko stated, noting the cost savings were equivalent to several engineering salaries.
Yakovenko further criticized the banking sector's profit model, pointing to the "astronomical" spread where banks pay depositors around 0.5% interest but earn close to 5% by parking funds in treasuries. He argued stablecoin providers can offer yields around 4%, a competitive pressure he claims is leading banking lobbyists to fight against stablecoin regulation to prevent these benefits from reaching consumers.
Looking ahead, Yakovenko confirmed Solana will roll out a new consensus algorithm called Alpenglow in 2026, replacing the original proof-of-history system. He also suggested that a recent SEC market structure draft could enable companies to conduct IPOs directly on-chain, representing a potential seismic shift for public markets.
This bullish sentiment on stablecoins is echoed by Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire. Speaking at Davos, Allaire projected a 40% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the stablecoin market, citing USDC's supply growth of roughly 80% year-over-year for two consecutive years as evidence of scaling use cases. From a current market cap of over $315 billion, a 40% jump would push the total to approximately $441 billion.
The upcoming markup of the Crypto Market Structure Bill on January 27 is seen as a pivotal moment. The bill, focused on rewards, could allow firms like Circle to offer interest to holders, mirroring the deposit model of traditional banks to boost adoption and lock in liquidity. Allaire dismissed banking industry pushback against such rewards as "totally absurd."
Ethereum stands to be a primary beneficiary of this expansion, currently holding over $160 billion in stablecoins—more than 50% of the total market—making it the dominant Layer 1 for liquidity and network activity.
