Following 2025's regulatory clarity and institutional momentum, BlackRock's Global Outlook envisions stablecoins as mainstream payment bridges, with Ethereum solidifying as the dominant settlement layer for a $298 billion digital dollar market, driven by security, liquidity, and tokenized asset growth.
BlackRock's 2026 Global Outlook describes stablecoins evolving from trading tools to bridges between traditional finance and digital liquidity, quoting Samara Cohen, the firm’s global head of market development: "no longer niche."
Building on the GENIUS Act's federal framework for payment stablecoins, with phased implementation through 2026–27, the sector has seen robust growth. Stablecoin supply hit $298 billion by January 5, 2026, fueling on-chain dollar liquidity. Visa's December 2025 USDC settlement launch in the US—initially on Solana—demonstrates faster, resilient payments, including non-business days.
Ethereum excels in settlement by decoupling execution from finality, especially via rollups. It hosts $12.5 billion in tokenized real-world assets as of January 5, 2026, holding 65% market share (RWA.xyz). BlackRock's BUIDL tokenized money-market fund launched on Ethereum before multi-chain expansion, while JPMorgan's Ethereum-based fund now accepts USDC post-GENIUS Act.
Challenges include issuer transparency, such as S&P Global's November 2025 downgrade of Tether’s reserves, and multi-chain fragmentation despite efforts like Circle's USDC portability. Ethereum's ecosystem cements its role as tokenized finance's foundation.
