Monica Long, Ripple’s president, recently stated that stable assets will cease to be experimental to become a fundamental layer of global finance within the next two years. According to her projections on the adoption of stablecoins in 2026, this asset class will move from pilot projects to full-scale production, integrating directly into traditional payment systems used by banks and corporations.
Recent developments from traditional payment giants evidence that stablecoins are definitively being “hard-wired” into existing incumbent systems, validating their real utility. Long points out that the decision by Visa and Stripe to settle with USDC marks a decisive turning point where blockchain-based rails are adopted within corporate flows, ceasing to operate in parallel to become the operational standard.
Likwise, it is expected that by the year 2026, these digital assets will fully integrate with legacy financial rails, establishing themselves as the default settlement mechanism. The executive added that cross-border payments will likely be the first area where this technology emerges as the norm, eliminating historical frictions and significantly reducing wait times and costs associated with conventional international transfers.
Corporate capital efficiency as the main driver
Although initial growth was dominated by retail trading, it is anticipated that business-to-business (B2B) payments will lead the next phase of massive expansion for the sector. Currently, B2B payments already account for the majority of flows, a trend that will accelerate exponentially as corporations seek operational efficiency gains and substantial improvements in their daily liquidity management.
Beyond faster settlement, the impact on corporate balance sheets will be transformative, especially in regions like Europe where large sums remain tied up in accounts receivable. Long estimates that €1.3 trillion remains trapped in working capital, a massive figure that stablecoins have the potential to unlock through real-time settlement and optimized cash flow management.
What role will banks play in this new infrastructure?
The sector is undergoing a profound structural shift, moving from being an alternative and speculative asset class to becoming the essential operating layer of modern finance. It is projected that institutional balance sheets will hold over $1 trillion in tokenized and digital assets by the end of 2026, driven by clear regulatory frameworks like the European Union’s MiCA regulation which provide legal certainty.
Finally, as institutional interest grows, consolidation in crypto infrastructure is likely to increase, particularly driving mergers in digital custody services. Ripple’s president concludes that the sector must move outside its current echo chamber, focusing on real usability so that, by 2027, banks in regulated regions issue their own stablecoins and formalize lasting custody relationships.
