Stablecoins are moving quickly from “crypto rails” toward mainstream corporate payment tools, according to a new survey from payments infrastructure firm Cybrid. The report suggests that a large share of businesses are already using stablecoins for cross-border transfers—and that confidence in further adoption will hinge heavily on clearer regulation.

Cybrid’s findings indicate that 42% of surveyed companies are using stablecoins for cross-border payments today, while 88% of respondents said they are likely or very likely to use them within the next 12 months. Among those benefits cited, cost savings stand out: businesses reported average cross-border payment cost reductions of 35%, with firms processing more than $100 million per month reporting average savings up to 47%.

Key takeaways

• Adoption is already underway: 42% of Cybrid’s surveyed businesses report using stablecoins for cross-border payments.
• Momentum looks set to accelerate: 88% said they expect to use stablecoins within the next year.
• Cost savings are a primary driver: average cross-border payment costs are reported down 35%, rising to as much as 47% for higher-volume firms.
• Regulatory clarity is the confidence lever: 71% of respondents said regulation matters more than trusted infrastructure providers or integration with existing systems.
• Stablecoin growth remains concentrated: CoinGecko data places total stablecoin market cap at $307.64 billion, with USDT and USDC leading.

Corporate stablecoin use is expanding beyond niche payments

Cybrid’s report is based on a survey of 468 executives and business leaders conducted between April 28 and May 4. Respondents represented technology, financial services, and ecommerce sectors across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, including C-suite executives as well as finance and treasury, payments, and operations leadership.

While cross-border payments are the headline use case, the survey also points to a range of corporate applications. Payroll and contractor payments were cited as the most common use case after cross-border transfers, followed by supplier and vendor payments. Additional reported activities included customer payments and uses tied to investment and yield generation, along with treasury and liquidity management.

That breadth matters for investors and operators because it suggests stablecoins are not being evaluated solely as an alternative to one payment moment. Instead, businesses appear to be testing stablecoins across operating workflows—particularly where speed, settlement, and international reach can reduce friction.

Cost advantages reported by businesses

Cybrid’s survey quantifies the economic appeal. Businesses using stablecoins reported average cross-border payment cost savings of 35%. For companies handling more than $100 million in monthly payment volume, the average savings reportedly increased to as much as 47%.

These figures are particularly relevant because stablecoin adoption often depends on whether the technology can deliver measurable improvements over established banking and remittance channels. Cybrid also noted that only 2% of respondents described themselves as “committed” users of traditional payment rails, a contrast that implies stablecoin workflows may be winning share where they provide clearer cost or operational benefits.

Regulation is emerging as the deciding factor

Beyond pricing, the survey highlights a key decision-making variable: regulatory clarity. According to Cybrid, 71% of respondents said it would increase their confidence to expand stablecoin use—and did so more than other considerations such as trusted infrastructure providers or integration with existing systems.

This emphasis aligns with broader market dynamics. The report points to momentum driven by U.S. legislation for payment stablecoins. It references the emergence of GENIUS Act-compliant stablecoins, noting that these have reached a combined market cap above $76 billion—marking the first federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins in the United States.

At the same time, the survey’s geography and respondent profile indicate that corporations are actively looking for frameworks that can be relied on at the point of operational deployment, not just pilot testing.

Stablecoin market size continues to grow as infrastructure upgrades

The Cybrid report arrives as stablecoins continue to scale. CoinGecko data cited in the report puts total stablecoin market cap at $307.64 billion. Tether’s USDT leads at $184.7 billion, followed by Circle’s USDC at $73.51 billion. The same data set is referenced to highlight how GENIUS Act-compliant stablecoins have grown to more than $76 billion in market cap.

Additional industry signals cited alongside Cybrid’s survey reinforce the shift toward business demand. Paybis previously said business customers accounted for nearly 98% of stablecoin payout volume processed through its platform in the first four months of 2026, up from 36% in 2023. Paybis also referenced McKinsey research estimating that business-to-business transactions represent roughly 60% of the $390 billion in global stablecoin payment volume recorded in 2025.

Meanwhile, major infrastructure providers continue expanding regulated pathways for stablecoin issuance, custody, and transfers. In May, Falcon Finance debuted fUSD—a dollar-backed stablecoin—through Anchorage Digital Bank’s federally regulated issuance platform, aiming at institutional trading, collateral, and treasury workflows. More recently, BNY expanded its digital asset custody platform to support Circle’s USDC, enabling institutional clients to store, transfer, mint, and redeem the stablecoin through the bank.

Together, these developments suggest that corporate interest is increasingly meeting operational capability. For businesses, the practical question is no longer whether stablecoins can move value, but whether they can be integrated into compliant, bank-adjacent processes that reduce operational risk.

What to watch in the next 12 months

Cybrid’s survey indicates stablecoin adoption is likely to intensify, but the data also implies that expansion may depend on continued regulatory progress and on how quickly corporate infrastructure becomes easier to deploy. Investors and teams should watch whether compliance-driven infrastructure keeps pace with demand—and whether businesses that are “likely” to use stablecoins convert into consistent, long-term users.

Coinmetro, an Estonian-based cryptocurrency exchange, has claimed that it has filed “a reorganisation application to the Estonian court.”

In its announcement, it states that this is required because of “an extraordinary situation caused by a failure of one of our financial service providers.”

It further claims that it had already suspended user registrations, deposits, and withdrawals back on June 22.

Interestingly, in the Estonian register both Coinmetro OÜ and Coinmetro Group OÜ are past due on annual reports. Coinmetro Group OÜ is also listed as having a tax debt.

The announcement didn’t disclose which financial service partner led to this failure, and Coinmetro has yet to respond to Protos’ questions regarding that issue.

During a YouTube based “Ask Me Anything” with Coinmetro Chief Executive (and beneficial owner) Kevin Murcko, he claimed that it was actually more than one provider that failed, despite the announcement only claiming one.

He also claimed that there was a multi-year internal investigation, suggesting that this failure happened well before this current announcement.

Additionally, he stated that he originally believed that Coinmetro’s balance sheet was strong enough that this wasn’t originally material, but has become material as Coinmetro has approached the July 1 licensure deadline for compliance with Markets in Crypto Assets regulations.

Prime Trust

The Prime Trust bankruptcy estate (PCT Litigation Trust) filed an adversary proceeding against Coinmetro in August of last year.

This proceeding attempted to clawback withdrawals made in the days immediately preceding bankruptcy.

This proceeding claims that Prime transferred $1,205,751.10 to Coinmetro in the days before Prime’s failure.

Read more: Prime Trust accused of using customer funds to cover lost deposits

The mistakes and fraud committed by Prime apparently make it extraordinarily difficult to determine who was owed which funds from Prime Trust.

This means that Coinmetro didn’t necessarily withdraw more funds than it deposited because of the failure, and Prime Trust is trying to clawback many of the withdrawals from the final days.

Protos reached out to Coinmetro for comment, but it didn’t respond before publication.

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Ripple has unveiled a proposed lending protocol for the XRP Ledger that would allow financial institutions to borrow digital assets without selling their holdings, expanding the network’s institutional finance capabilities.

According to a proposal published by Ripple, the new XRP Ledger Lending Protocol is designed to fill what the company describes as a missing piece in blockchain-based finance. While tokenization has simplified the issuance and transfer of digital assets, Ripple argues that lending, collateral management, and credit infrastructure have not advanced at the same pace.

The proposal would support lending markets for tokenized U.S. Treasuries, money market funds, stablecoins, commodities, private credit, and other real-world assets on the XRP Ledger. 

Rather than embedding credit decisions into blockchain code, Ripple said lenders and borrowers would negotiate loan terms and complete compliance checks off-chain before transactions move to the network for execution.

Credit decisions stay off-chain while loan servicing moves on-chain

Ripple said the protocol separates institutional credit assessment from blockchain settlement. Once a loan has been approved, the XRP Ledger would automate operational tasks including interest calculations, repayment schedules, loan servicing, and default management.

According to Ripple, this structure was intentionally designed to keep underwriting and regulatory requirements under the control of financial institutions while using the blockchain for standardized execution. The company said this approach mirrors how traditional financial markets separate credit decisions from settlement infrastructure.

The proposal introduces two core building blocks. A Single Asset Vault would pool a single token for lending, while a dedicated Lending Protocol would manage loan origination, servicing, and repayment. Ripple said separating custody from lending infrastructure follows the model already used in conventional capital markets.

As one example, Ripple said a payment provider holding reserves of RLUSD could obtain short-term liquidity through the protocol while waiting for cross-border transactions to settle. According to the company, doing so would allow institutions to avoid liquidating reserve assets or relying on higher-cost bank credit facilities.

Institutional access depends on validator approval

Compliance remains a central part of the proposal. Ripple said both lenders and borrowers would need to complete identity verification before participating, with access controlled through permissioned credentials rather than open participation.

The company also proposed assigning first-loss capital at the lending facility level instead of distributing losses equally across all participants. According to Ripple, this structure is intended to create a clearer framework for allocating credit risk.

The lending framework has not yet become part of the XRP Ledger. Ripple said the technical specifications, published as XLS-65 and XLS-66, still require approval from XRPL validators before they can be activated on the main network. Until then, developers and infrastructure providers can begin testing the proposed system on the XRPL devnet.

The proposal arrives days after Ripple drew attention through another institutional finance connection. As previously reported by crypto.news, Elon Musk’s X has begun rolling out X Money to a limited group of Premium+ users using traditional banking infrastructure provided by Cross River Bank, a Ripple banking partner.

Although some members of the XRP community speculated that the relationship could eventually support blockchain-based payments or stablecoin services, neither X nor Cross River Bank has announced plans to integrate XRP or other cryptocurrencies into the payment platform.

For now, X Money operates entirely through conventional banking rails despite Musk previously suggesting crypto features could be added to the platform’s financial services in the future.

Key Highlights

• Over 140 corporations including Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe support the OUSD stablecoin initiative
• Consortium-driven governance replaces traditional single-issuer control structure
• Zero-fee minting and redemption model eliminates direct transaction costs for businesses
• Primary focus includes corporate payment systems, settlement operations, and treasury management
• Major South Korean corporations like Samsung, Dunamu, and Shinhan participate in the initiative

On June 30, 2026, Open Standard unveiled OUSD with endorsement from Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, and over 140 corporate partners. This initiative focuses on enterprise-scale payment infrastructure and settlement solutions, employing a collaborative governance framework rather than centralized control. The platform offers zero-cost token issuance and redemption, potentially streamlining stablecoin adoption across corporate environments.

Collaborative Governance Model Defines OUSD Framework

Open Standard unveiled OUSD as a consortium-driven digital dollar initiative. The alliance encompasses payment processors, financial institutions, tech enterprises, cryptocurrency exchanges, and blockchain service providers. This launch bridges conventional finance with digital asset ecosystems through unified operational infrastructure.

Unlike traditional stablecoins controlled by singular entities, OUSD operates through a partner-governed board system for strategic oversight. This framework provides member organizations with meaningful input on governance matters and strategic development.

The model distributes reserve income among participating organizations following operational expenses. Consequently, partners obtain tangible financial incentives tied to broader market penetration. This arrangement encourages active promotion since member firms benefit directly from ecosystem expansion.

Leading Payment Processors Anchor Extensive Corporate Coalition

Among Open Standard’s supporters, Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe represent the most prominent payment industry players. Their participation establishes robust connections to worldwide payment infrastructure and commercial networks. This involvement reflects growing institutional appetite for stablecoin-based settlement mechanisms.

Additional consortium members feature BlackRock, BNY, Coinbase, Google, IBM, Ripple, OKX, and Standard Chartered. The roster extends to BBVA, DBS, Mizuho, MoonPay, Rakuten Group, and Crypto.com. OUSD launches with comprehensive backing spanning banking, payment processing, technology sectors, and cryptocurrency services.

South Korean members comprise Samsung Electronics, Hanwha Group, Dunamu, and Shinhan Financial Group. The Korean contingent also features K-Bank, KB Kookmin Card, Samsung Card, BC Card, and Hana Card. Hyundai Card, NH Nonghyup Card, and Woori Card complete the regional partnership lineup.

Corporate Settlement Infrastructure Emphasizes Cost Efficiency

Open Standard architected OUSD for cost-effective, high-capacity stablecoin operations. Organizations can create and redeem tokens without transaction charges, based on release specifications. This characteristic holds particular significance for payment processing, treasury functions, and settlement workflows.

The platform eliminates predetermined supply caps. OUSD circulation can grow proportionally with rising commercial demand. This methodology seeks to accommodate substantial transaction volumes without imposed supply constraints.

OUSD deployment remains planned for late 2026. Upon launch, it will compete directly with dominant stablecoins like USDT and USDC. Open Standard frames OUSD as collaborative enterprise infrastructure rather than a centrally controlled financial instrument.

With more institutions embracing stablecoins, the competition is increasingly shifting from issuing tokens to determining who controls the underlying infrastructure and network.

Unlike most existing stablecoins, Open USD will allow businesses to mint and redeem tokens without fees while returning reserve income to participating partners, less a management fee. Governance will also be shared among members rather than controlled by a single issuer.

The model targets one of the core economics of today’s stablecoin market. Issuers such as Circle earn revenue by investing reserves backing their tokens in short-term U.S. Treasuries and retaining most of the interest generated by those assets. Open USD instead plans to distribute that yield to participating businesses.

The approach resembles the Global Dollar Network (USDG), a stablecoin consortium led by Paxos that shares reserve income with participating firms. That network is backed by companies including Robinhood, Kraken and Galaxy Digital, and was designed to encourage broader adoption by aligning incentives between the issuer and distribution partners.

In Europe, a group of banks and payment providers launched Qivalis, a venture to develop a euro-denominated stablecoin as financial institutions seek to build shared digital payment infrastructure.

The breadth of Open USD’s backing reflects that shift. Beyond Stripe, Coinbase, Mastercard and Visa, launch partners include BNY, Standard Chartered, DBS, U.S. Bank, Shopify, Google, IBM, Mercado Pago, Fireblocks, Anchorage Digital, MetaMask, Aave, Solana, Polygon and Ripple.

• REAL launches private execution layer for RWA institutions.
• ZKsync tech enables confidential on-chain settlement via Ethereum.
• Platform aims to bridge the privacy gap in institutional blockchain use.

REAL has introduced a confidential execution layer designed to support regulated financial institutions operating in tokenized real-world asset (RWA) markets, addressing one of the key barriers to broader institutional adoption of blockchain-based finance.

The new layer, built using ZKsync’s Prividium technology, operates alongside REAL’s public Layer 1 network.

According to the company, it enables institutions to keep positions, allocations, and counterparty data private while still benefiting from public settlement and liquidity through Ethereum.

The company said the confidential layer is intended to provide privacy controls without compromising compliance, liquidity, or distribution, allowing institutions to participate in onchain markets while maintaining the confidentiality required for regulated financial operations.

Confidential infrastructure targets institutional needs

REAL said the new execution layer is designed to bridge the gap between public blockchain infrastructure and the operational requirements of regulated financial institutions.

While public blockchains offer benefits such as global access, instant settlement, and composability, the company noted that institutions have been reluctant to conduct business on networks where sensitive information—including positions, treasury strategies, and counterparty relationships—is publicly visible.

Because the confidential layer settles transactions on Ethereum, institutions can access the broader onchain capital market while maintaining operational privacy instead of operating within isolated private networks.

Platform supports regulated financial workflows

According to REAL, the confidential execution layer is built to support a range of institutional workflows where privacy is considered essential.

These include wealth and asset management activities that require protected portfolio information, balance sheet operations, tokenized deposit models, and selective disclosure capabilities for auditors, compliance teams, and regulators when necessary.

The company said institutions using the platform will continue to benefit from blockchain-native settlement, distribution, and liquidity while avoiding the need to expose sensitive business activity on fully public networks.

The launch also expands REAL’s broader strategy of supporting the entire lifecycle of tokenized real-world assets within a compliance-focused infrastructure.

The company said its platform covers issuance, risk assessment, insurance, trading, and institutional execution under a single architecture designed for regulated financial markets.

REAL expands institutional blockchain offering

REAL describes itself as an institutional blockchain infrastructure provider focused on compliant real-world asset tokenization and risk-managed capital flows.

Built on Cosmos Tendermint, the platform supports multiple stages of onchain financial products, including issuance, compliance, liquidity, insurance, risk assessment, and trading.

The company said its dual-validator architecture combines technical validators with business validators such as tokenizers, risk scorers, insurers, and credit agencies to provide an infrastructure aimed at institutional trust.

The confidential execution layer uses ZKsync’s Prividium privacy technology, which is designed to enable regulated entities to operate onchain with configurable confidentiality, selective disclosure, and settlement on Ethereum.

A U.S. judge sentenced Chinese businessman Miles Guo, the billionaire behind the fraudulent crypto venture Himalaya Coin, to 30 years in prison, long after a trial jury found the well-connected defendant was guilty of several crimes in 2024.

Guo, 55, also known as Ho Wan Kwok and a number of other aliases, was a self-imposed exile from China who had a close relationship with Steve Bannon, the former strategist of President Donald Trump who has had his own legal entanglements. In 2021, Guo had pushed his fraudulent crypto token, known as H-Coin, telling prospective buyers that it was 20% backed by gold and that the operation would cover 100% of investment losses.

He was said to pull in $500 million in investments, which was just one element of what U.S. authorities called “interrelated fraud schemes” perpetrated over five years, leading to his conviction on counts including racketeering, fraud and money laundering.