Stablecoins, quietly transforming from "supporting roles" into the "underlying system"💰

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) latest research directly presents a core conclusion👇
👉 Stablecoins are evolving into the global financial infrastructure
And data is more convincing than any opinion📊

📈Key changes overview:
👉 Q1 2026 stablecoin adjusted trading volume: $4.5 trillion
👉 C2B (user→merchant) transactions: soaring 128% year-over-year to 280 million transactions
👉 Stablecoin card collateral scale: from nearly zero → over $300 million
👉 Circulation speed: from 2.6 times → 6 times (significant increase in usage frequency)

💡A one-sentence summary of these data:
👉 Stablecoins have shifted from "being held" to "being used."
And the scenarios are also changing👇
👉 From cross-border payments → local payments (fastest growth in Asia and Brazil)

📈The good news is clear:
• Stablecoins are truly entering everyday consumption scenarios🛍️
• Increased usage frequency = real demand is growing
• Expected to become part of the global payment network
• For the entire crypto industry, it is the "strongest fundamental support"

⚠️But risks are also escalating:
• Regulatory intervention deepening, industry freedom may decrease⚠️
• Stablecoins are increasingly resembling traditional financial instruments
• Concentration of top issuers increases, systemic risk rises
• Once regulation or credit issues occur, the impact will be "global"

🧠My view:
The change in stablecoins is not fundamentally a technological upgrade, but👇
👉 a role upgrade.
In the past, they were just:
👉 The "transaction medium" in the crypto world
Now they are becoming:
👉 The "payment infrastructure" in the real world

📌A one-sentence summary:
Stablecoins are no longer just tools in the crypto market, but are competing for the global financial gateway—yet moving toward mainstream also means accepting stricter regulation and greater responsibility⚖️