Digital payment activity has several distinct gauges: adjusted stablecoin transfers reached $891 billion in the third quarter of 2026, while bank settlement trials and business estimates track testing and use.
One screened measure found that 73% of stablecoin transfer volume occurred outside U.S. banking hours, including nights, weekends and holidays. The $891 billion quarterly tally excludes some transfer activity. It is more than four times the early-2023 level, a comparison that does not measure growth over the past year.
At seven of the 10 largest U.S. banks, settlement trials involved stablecoins, tokenized deposits or both. The count does not show how many tested stablecoins specifically or establish that any bank launched a service.
For mid-market companies active in cross-border business, the estimated share using or piloting stablecoins stood at 30%, compared with 10% in 2024. Separately, business-to-business payment volume was 36% higher than a year earlier; that figure measures payment activity rather than company adoption.
Two other indicators measure different things: 293 million blockchain addresses held stablecoins, while 18% of U.S. adults surveyed expressed interest in buying or using them through their main bank or financial institution. One person or business can control multiple addresses, so the first figure is not a user count; the second measures interest rather than current use.
Banks and payment providers can use Mastercard’s stablecoin risk checks to score a transfer before it reaches a blockchain and decide whether it needs closer review.
