Thunes: stablecoins hit $33trn

Thunes said on May 14 that global stablecoin transaction volume reached $33 trillion in 2025, adding to a run of company and card-network disclosures that show digital tokens being used beyond crypto trading. In the same note, the cross-border payments company said USDC alone processed $18.3 trillion in 2025 and said stablecoins are now being used in cross-border payments, treasury management and settlement. Visa, meanwhile, said on April 30 that its stablecoin settlement pilot had expanded to nine blockchains and reached a $7 billion annualized settlement run rate. Together, the disclosures offer a snapshot of how large payments groups are framing stablecoins less as a speculative asset and more as operational payment infrastructure. ### Why is the $33 trillion figure getting attention? Thunes said the $33 trillion figure exceeded the combined annual transaction volumes of Visa and Mastercard, a comparison it used to argue that stablecoins have moved “into the heart” of financial infrastructure. The company published that claim in a May 14 article on its website focused on currency diversity in stablecoins. (thunes.com) USDC was the standout token in Thunes’ accounting, with $18.3 trillion of the 2025 volume, according to the company. Thunes did not present the figure in a regulatory filing; it appeared in a corporate thought-leadership post tied to the company’s cross-border payments business. ### What is Visa actually doing with stablecoins? (thunes.com) Visa said on April 30 that it added support for five more blockchains to its stablecoin settlement pilot, bringing the total to nine. The company said the pilot already used Avalanche, Ethereum, Solana and Stellar, and that the expansion was aimed at giving partners more options for settlement flows. (thunes.com) Visa said the pilot had reached a $7 billion annualized stablecoin settlement run rate, up 50% from the prior quarter. The company linked the expansion to partners including Bridge and Tempo, describing the program as part of its effort to build multi-chain settlement infrastructure. (usa.visa.com) December 16, 2025, marked another step in that buildout, when Visa said U.S. issuer and acquirer partners could for the first time settle with Visa in Circle’s USDC. That announcement put the company’s U.S. stablecoin settlement volume at more than $3.5 billion annualized at the time. ### Where are stablecoins being used beyond trading? Thunes said stablecoins are increasingly being used for cross-border payments, treasury management and settlement rather than only for crypto-market activity. (investor.visa.com) In separate materials published in late 2025 and 2026, the company described stablecoin liquidity as a way for businesses to move funds across time zones, reduce reliance on pre-funded accounts and convert into local currency closer to payout. (usa.visa.com) Visa has described a similar operational use case. In its public materials, the company said it is exploring seven-day-a-week settlement, additional stablecoins and more blockchain networks, while presenting stablecoins as tools for modernizing money movement and internal processes. ### How much of this is company marketing versus independently verified data? (thunes.com) Thunes’ $33 trillion figure comes from a company-published article, not an audited filing or a central-bank dataset. The post does not, in the excerpt publicly available through search, spell out the methodology behind the global total. Visa’s figures also come from company press releases and investor materials. (corporate.visa.com) Those disclosures are more specific about the settlement program’s scope — naming blockchains, partners and annualized run rates — but they remain company statements about Visa’s own network activity. ### What should readers watch next? (thunes.com) April 30 is the latest dated milestone in Visa’s public stablecoin rollout, with the nine-blockchain expansion and the $7 billion annualized run rate. May 14 is the latest dated Thunes milestone, with the publication of its $33 trillion 2025 volume claim. (investor.visa.com) Future disclosures are likely to come from the same named participants. Visa has said it is expanding its settlement capabilities to more partners and markets, while Thunes has tied its stablecoin push to Circle and to payout coverage in more than 130 countries. (corporate.visa.com) (investor.visa.com)