Written by: Blockchain Knight
In its "2026 Global Outlook," BlackRock points out that stablecoins are breaking through exchange boundaries and integrating into mainstream payment systems, with the potential for widespread adoption in cross-border transfers and daily use in emerging markets.
This positioning shifts the core market question: stablecoins are not merely about benefits for the crypto industry, but whether they can become a settlement channel coexisting or even integrating with traditional finance, leading to the key proposition of "which blockchains will become the core foundational layer."
BlackRock clearly states that stablecoins are "no longer niche products" and are becoming "a bridge between traditional finance and digital liquidity."
The rise of stablecoins stems from the volatility of the crypto market and the limitations of traditional financial settlement, while their current mainstream adoption benefits from regulatory clarity and scale breakthroughs.
The enactment of the "GENIUS Act" in July 2025 established a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins in the United States; by early 2026, the total market capitalization of stablecoins exceeded $298 billion, with USDT and USDC still dominating.
Mainstream application has seen substantial breakthroughs. In December 2025, Visa launched USDC settlement services in the US, with partner banks settling via Solana, aiming to provide 24/7 service, accelerate fund flows, and ensure stability during holidays, marking stablecoins' entry into the core settlement环节 of finance.
As stablecoin applications expand into areas like collateral and treasury management, the reliability of the foundational layer becomes increasingly critical.
Although Ethereum is not the chain with the lowest stablecoin transfer costs, its ecosystem anchor layer advantage makes it the preferred choice for institutions.
It separates execution and settlement, serving as the final arbitration layer to ensure certainty for high-value transactions. This advantage drives Ethereum to become the core custody platform for tokenized assets. By early January 2026, it custodied $12.5 billion in tokenized real-world assets (RWA), holding a 65% market share.
BlackRock's own tokenized money market fund BUIDL and JPMorgan's tokenized money market fund both started on Ethereum, confirming the institutional strategy of "entering through mature ecosystems before expanding outward."
In emerging markets, stablecoins may expand the use of the US dollar but could impact local currency controls; issuer risks cannot be ignored. In November 2025, S&P downgraded Tether's reserve rating due to insufficient transparency, reminding that system stability relies on the underlying assets.
While Circle's multi-chain strategy enhances liquidity portability, market premiums will ultimately favor layers with credible settlement, asset integration capabilities, and secure governance.
BlackRock's judgment is that for stablecoins to truly become a bridge between traditional and digital finance, they require robust foundational layer support. Under the current architecture, Ethereum remains the core cornerstone for institutional adoption.
