A new report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis projects a monumental future for stablecoins, forecasting that their transaction volume could scale to an astonishing $1.5 quadrillion by 2035. This projection is based on a structural shift where stablecoins are evolving from a tool for crypto trading into a core rail for real-world economic activity.
The report establishes a baseline growth trajectory, noting that adjusted stablecoin volume—which excludes bot-driven transfers and MEV-related flows—processed approximately $28 trillion in real economic volume in 2025. Since 2023, this adjusted volume has grown at a compound annual rate of 133%. Based on this organic growth alone, Chainalysis projects annual stablecoin volume will reach roughly $719 trillion by 2035.
"Two structural forces could push adoption far beyond that baseline," the report highlights. The first is a massive generational wealth transfer, estimated to move $80–100 trillion into the hands of crypto-familiar Millennials and Gen Z by 2028. Nearly half of these cohorts have already interacted with digital assets. This shift alone could add an estimated $508 trillion to annual stablecoin transaction volumes by 2035.
The second force is accelerating merchant adoption, which is turning stablecoins from an alternative payment method into a default option. The report draws a parallel to the adoption path of credit cards, suggesting stablecoins could follow a similar trajectory from optional to standard infrastructure. This adoption is driven by their advantages in speed, cost, and accessibility for cross-border payments, remittances, and settlements.
The report concludes that this growth will pressure traditional financial institutions and payment networks like Visa, which may face direct competition from stablecoin rails as early as 2031. It also suggests increased stablecoin usage will support growth in adjacent sectors like on-chain lending, tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), and treasury management systems.
