Key facts
- Fragmented regulatory regimes limit stablecoin adoption in international trade.
- Stablecoins currently account for only 3% of total international payments.
Fragmented regulatory frameworks are hindering the adoption of stablecoins in international trade, limiting their use to just 3% of global payments, according to the World Trade Organization. The WTO study highlights that technological constraints are not the issue, but rather the lack of developed regulatory regimes.
The lack of harmonized global regulation for stablecoins is preventing them from fulfilling their potential to streamline international trade finance, impacting businesses that could benefit from lower costs and faster transactions.
Fragmented regulatory regimes are significantly limiting the adoption of stablecoins in international trade, according to Juan Marchetti, director of the trade in services and investment division at the World Trade Organization (WTO). "The constraint is not technology. It is actually regulation and the lack of development of regulatory frameworks," Marchetti stated during a speech in Geneva at the launch of a WTO study on stablecoins in world trade. He referenced a Financial Stability Board report from October 2025, which indicated that only 39% of the 28 surveyed jurisdictions have finalized their stablecoin regulatory frameworks. Despite their potential to alleviate friction points in trade finance such as high costs, slow speeds, limited access, lack of transparency, and foreign exchange issues, stablecoins currently represent only 3% of all international payments due to these regulatory hurdles. The WTO's report also noted a substantial increase in stablecoin usage for cross-border payments, growing 35-fold between 2020 and mid-2024.