Stablecoin, Surpass Visa payments in the first quarter of 2025
Stablecoin Trading Volume Surpassing Visa Payments (Source: Bitwise)
In the first quarter of this year, stablecoin trading volume surpassed the performance of global payment company Visa. According to the 2025 first-quarter market report released by cryptocurrency investment firm Bitwise, stablecoin usage has increased significantly compared to last year, emerging as a central pillar in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. This report summarized the mixed market trends with the expression "The Best Worst Quarter in Cryptocurrency History."
Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise, evaluated, “The first quarter of 2025 was an unusually positive time in terms of politics and regulation.” He particularly noted that pro-cryptocurrency oriented President Trump prioritized digital assets, particularly stablecoins, as a national priority immediately after taking office, and that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped several large cryptocurrency lawsuits. However, the cryptocurrency price decline following the temporary rally immediately after the election left another tension in the market. Hougan said, “It is time to question whether this is the bottom, or if all the good news has already been reflected.”
According to the report, while stablecoin trading volume slightly outpaced Visa, it showed a steep growth rate, increasing more than 30% year-on-year. Stablecoin assets under management increased by 13.5% from the previous quarter to record $218 billion, and then increased to $237 billion. Hougan predicted that “The stablecoin assets could become much larger than we currently imagine,” and if they grow to a scale of trillions of dollars, the structure of the entire cryptocurrency market will also change significantly.
The trend of tokenizing real-world assets on blockchain has also intensified. The value of tokenized real-world assets (RWA) increased more than double from $9 billion in the first quarter of 2024 to $19 billion in just one year. Among these, the demand for tokenizing U.S. Treasury bonds was particularly high. Tokenized assets based on U.S. Treasury securities surged from $2 billion in the fourth quarter of last year to nearly $4.5 billion this quarter.
The DeFi sector is also showing signs of rebounding. Venture funds flowed in at the fastest pace in the last six quarters, and DeFi projects succeeded in attracting the largest scale of investment since 2022. Among them, World Liberty Financial, associated with the Trump family, raised $590 million, and Athena, building synthetic yield-stablecoin infrastructure, received $100 million in investment.
Overall, DeFi attracted 18% of venture funds in the first quarter, taking a similar share as infrastructure projects. Cryptocurrency financial services took 58% of the total funds, and asset tokenization projects occupied 5%.
With regulatory easing, technological expansion, and new market demand intertwining, the cryptocurrency market stands at a crossroads of reorganization once again. As Hougan said, if the growth rate of stablecoins maintains or accelerates beyond its current level, there is a high possibility that the existing cryptocurrency order will undergo significant changes.