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Stablecoins are reshaping finance faster than you think

Stablecoins are no fringe trend — they’re the foundation of a new, faster and programmable financial system that Australia risks missing out on.

Edward Carroll Edward is the head of global markets and corporate finance at MHC Digital Group, and a former Macquarie banker.
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Stablecoins are ushering in a new financial future — and Australia has a unique chance to lead, argues Edward Carroll. Shutterstock.

There's no other way to say it: we are living through a financial infrastructure revolution.

Markets have their daily distractions, whether it be Bitcoin ETFs or the hand-wringing over AI, but the most significant transformation in global finance is emerging in an area few institutional investors have fully grasped: stablecoins.

This isn’t a fringe concept or a speculative detour. Stablecoins are the plumbing for a new financial system — faster, cheaper, programmable money that moves seamlessly across borders, operates outside banking hours and integrates natively within the digital economy.

The numbers speak for themselves. In 2024, stablecoin transaction volume topped US$26 trillion ($40 trillion) — more than Visa and Mastercard combined. Total supply has now surpassed US$250 billion, growing 57% year on year.

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