Stablecoins are moving from debate to build

I recently returned from Money20/20 Europe, where discussions on the show floor and in sessions, as well as the stablecoin panel and podcast I participated in, all pointed to the same conclusion: stablecoins are becoming a growing part of how the payments industry is evolving. 

Here's a deeper look at what I took away.

During the panel session I participated in with Mastercard and Zerohash titled, “Why Europe Could Be the Safest Market for Mainstream Stablecoins,” we discussed why Europe may be particularly well-positioned for broader stablecoin adoption. One of the primary factors is that the region’s regulatory framework is further along, particularly with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. MiCA is more than a compliance requirement; it creates the foundation that enables broader ecosystem growth. Regulatory clarity gives institutional capital somewhere to land, gives product teams the confidence to invest and commit, and gives potential partners the assurance needed to move forward.

At the show, three use cases consistently emerged across sessions and discussions:

Cross-border payments. When OpenPayd, Swift, and Mambu discussed tokenized payments, the stablecoin case for cross-border payments came up immediately. The economics of moving value on stablecoin chains versus correspondent banking rails aren't close in many markets. Especially emerging ones. That's not a prediction, that is the current reality. Cards are simply the most effective off-ramp for users to transact.

Settlement. Card programs today pre-fund float reserves because legacy rails have blackout windows such as nights, weekends, holidays. Eliminate those windows with 24/7 stablecoin settlement and you free up real working capital. At scale, that's a structural advantage, not a marginal improvement. Stablecoin increases capital efficiency for issuers.

B2B payments. Supplier payments, contractor payouts, global payroll. Hold a stablecoin wallet, send globally, off-ramp into local currency at the destination. Simpler than what exists today. 

At Marqeta, we’re focused on how this evolving stablecoin infrastructure is becoming actionable for issuers. Across conversations at the show, a consistent theme emerged: the building blocks are actively being put in place. Stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and CBDCs are all advancing simultaneously, and the race to scale is well underway. The enterprises that win will treat them as distinct instruments and build the orchestration layer needed to route across them intelligently.

For issuers, the opportunity is significant—and the path is becoming clearer. As the ecosystem matures, capabilities like custody, on/off-ramp providers, and compliance layers are becoming easier to assemble. The goal for platforms is a single integration point that gives issuers access to this evolving stablecoin infrastructure without requiring them to become experts in every underlying component.

The card networks aren't waiting. Visa has expanded USDC settlement to nine blockchains. Mastercard committed $1.8 billion to acquire stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK. These aren't exploratory bets, they're infrastructure investments by companies that move deliberately and at scale.

The question is not if stablecoins become part of the card ecosystem. It's whether companies are positioned to deliver new programs that will more effectively address certain needs for cardholders when the scaling begins.

Money20/20 also confirmed that one of the most practical applications emerging is stablecoin-backed cards. While stablecoins are efficient for moving value, their everyday utility is still constrained by how easily they can be spent. Stablecoin-backed cards solve this by linking wallet balances directly to card rails, making it possible to use stablecoins for purchases anywhere cards are accepted, effectively turning them into a simple, ATM-like way to access and spend digital balances in fiat form.