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Points of Focus
- Cross-border stablecoin payment volumes grew 35-fold from 2020 to mid-2024.
- Stablecoins still account for only about 3% of global trade payments.
- The WTO says regulatory gaps, not technology, are the main constraint.
The World Trade Organization launched its first dedicated report on stablecoins on Sep. 14, finding that cross-border stablecoin payment volumes grew roughly 35-fold between 2020 and mid-2024 yet still account for only about 3% of global cross-border payment volumes, citing McKinsey research.
The report, titled ‘Stablecoins and World Trade,’ was released in Geneva alongside the WTO’s first World Trade and Tech Day. The report describes a stablecoin as a privately issued digital asset designed to hold a stable value against a reference asset such as the US dollar or euro, distinguishing it from the broader, more volatile cryptocurrency market it was originally built to hedge against.
Although stablecoin turnover overall still represents a small share of total crypto activity, the report notes actual payment volumes are expanding steadily, led by business-to-business transactions rather than consumer or speculative use.
What the WTO’s stablecoin report says about cross-border payments
The WTO’s Economic Research and Statistics Division and its Trade in Services and Investment Division prepared the report jointly. In her foreword, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala wrote that ‘the WTO has long provided a forum for members to discuss transformative technological developments that influence the conduct of trade,’ presenting the analysis as a contribution to policymaking rather than a market forecast.
The report argues stablecoins can address persistent frictions in cross-border payments by accelerating settlement times, lowering transaction costs, and improving transparency, benefits it says would matter most to traders who struggle with traditional cross-border payment tools. Bank for International Settlements General Manager Pablo Hernández de Cos delivered the keynote address at the Geneva launch.
Why regulatory gaps are limiting stablecoin adoption in trade
The report identifies regulation, not the payment rails themselves, as the limiting factor.
An October 2025 peer review by the Financial Stability Board, based on data as of August 2025, found that jurisdictions have made uneven progress implementing crypto-asset and stablecoin recommendations, with ‘significant gaps and inconsistencies’ that the FSB said create opportunities for regulatory arbitrage.
The review evaluated how member and non-member jurisdictions have applied the FSB’s 2023 recommendations on crypto-asset service providers and stablecoin arrangements, including data reporting standards and cross-border coordination tools.
Okonjo-Iweala’s foreword ties the payment-efficiency gains to that regulatory question: ‘these opportunities can only be fully realized if they are accompanied by appropriate regulatory frameworks, interoperable payment infrastructures, and international cooperation that foster confidence, security and inclusion.’
How stablecoins could help, and risk, developing economies
The report identifies a genuine tension for developing economies specifically: they stand to gain the most from stablecoins, particularly through cheaper access to digital transactions and broader small-firm participation in trade, while simultaneously facing ‘limited supervisory capacity, weak digital infrastructure, inadequate consumer protection, and gaps in other financing measures’ that raise their operational and financial risk.
The report is also explicit about what stablecoins do not replace. It describes their main trade use as a payments and settlement tool, noting they do not substitute for trade finance because they do not replicate the credit, guarantee, and risk-mitigation functions that underpin merchandise trade. That distinction means stablecoins’ relevance differs meaningfully between goods trade, which depends heavily on those trade-finance functions, and services trade, where payment friction alone is often the bigger barrier.
The WTO’s conclusion is narrower than the growth numbers alone suggest: a 35-fold increase in volume describes adoption momentum, not readiness. Whether that momentum translates into a meaningfully larger share of global trade payments depends on the same regulatory alignment the FSB’s own review found still lacking as of last year, a gap the WTO report identifies as the primary variable to watch rather than any remaining technical limitation in stablecoins themselves.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.
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