Blockchain isn’t just crypto hype anymore—it’s quickly becoming the backbone of global finance. Industry insiders, including leading figures from PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), anticipate that within a decade, blockchain could handle 50%-60% of financial flows. Here’s the breakdown of who’s poised to win in this blockchain revolution.
Stablecoins Lead the Charge Stablecoins like PYUSD (PayPal’s own stablecoin), USDC, and USDT are spearheading this transformation. Last year, stablecoin volumes topped $30-$35 trillion—surpassing even Visa (NYSE: V) and Mastercard (NYSE: MA) combined by about 10%. Why? Stablecoins streamline cross-border payments, cutting transaction fees significantly from the 7%-10% typical of traditional networks like SWIFT and Western Union (NYSE: WU) down to roughly 1%-2.5%.
Companies Primed for Gains:
- Stripe: Privately held. Acquiring Bridge positioned Stripe to dominate in faster, cheaper B2B cross-border payments, crucial in underserved regions like Latin America and Africa.
- Block (NYSE: XYZ): Already deeply embedded in Web3, Block is innovating in stablecoin payments and merchant adoption, especially in high-friction corridors.
- Airwallex: Privately held.
- Cybrid: Privately held.
- MoonPay: Privately held, considered a potential IPO candidate.
The Next Wave: Tokenized Assets Following stablecoins, expect real-world asset (RWA) tokenization—think securities, bonds, real estate—to take off. Tokenization allows instant (T+0) settlements, automated compliance, and fractional ownership, fundamentally reshaping investments and trading.
Companies Leading Tokenization:
- Figure Markets: Privately held, potential IPO candidate.
- J.P. Morgan (NYSE: JPM) & Citi (NYSE: C): Leveraging blockchain for regulated liability networks and institutional-grade financial instruments.
- BlackRock (NYSE: BLK): Building blockchain-based funds that promise to revolutionize traditional asset management.
Why Blockchain Over Traditional Payments? Stablecoin payments beat traditional methods with their 24/7/365 availability, programmability (think streaming payrolls, automatic escrow payments), global interoperability, and financial inclusion—especially critical in regions with unstable banking systems.
Traditional Giants Adapt or Lose Ground Payment networks like Visa (NYSE: V) and Mastercard (NYSE: MA) won’t vanish but must adapt quickly. Their future lies in becoming interfaces for blockchain payments, adding value through consumer protection services like chargebacks, fraud prevention, and dispute resolution.
Bottom Line: Who Should Investors Back?
- Kite Financial: Privately held. Solving currency and transaction problems in emerging markets, notably Africa, by using stablecoin-backed banking solutions.
- Huma Finance: Privately held, innovating in revenue-backed, cross-border lending using blockchain verification, paving the way for next-gen credit services.
- Starlight: Privately held. Founded by ex-Bridge (now Stripe-owned) executives, Starlight offers stablecoin infrastructure solutions, effectively acting as the “Plaid” for blockchain payments.
Blockchain is already transforming finance—investors focused on innovative payment and tokenization solutions will find their portfolios aligned with the next era of financial services.