The stablecoin question is: Who gets paid?

Stablecoin infrastructure delivers velocity but issuers and exchanges capture the rent. Velocity beats market cap as digital dollars become invisible financial plumbing.

Opinion by: Jeff Handler, co-founder at OpenTrade.

The tech has been solved. The digital dollars are flowing. In 2026, the only variable left is understanding who actually gets to collect and enjoy the fare.

2025 wasn’t the year stablecoins “went mainstream”, at least not how crypto pundits had envisioned. No specific app that dominated the download charts, nor was there a particular moment when stablecoins suddenly clicked for normies. Instead, by intentional design, digital dollars quietly and efficiently became working capital, nestling neatly into the world’s financial plumbing.

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