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Citi’s Global Perspectives & Solutions (GPS) report Stablecoins 2030 examines the accelerating role of stablecoins in global finance. With insights from industry experts, including Aquanow CEO Phil Sham, the research frames stablecoins as a central component in the evolution of digital financial infrastructure.
Institutional Outlook on Stablecoins
Revised Market Projections
Citi has significantly revised its outlook for stablecoin issuance, forecasting a base case of $1.9 trillion and a bull case of $4.0 trillion by 2030. This represents growth of 19% and 8% respectively from their previous estimates published in April 2025. At projected payment velocity levels, stablecoins could support $100–200 trillion in annual transaction activity, highlighting their relevance as an institutional-grade settlement instrument.
A Multi-Format On-Chain Ecosystem
The report underscores that stablecoins will not emerge as the sole digital money format. Instead, they will co-exist with tokenized deposits, deposit tokens, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Institutions will select between these formats based on trust, compliance, interoperability, and operational efficiency, with Citi anticipating that bank tokens may ultimately surpass stablecoins in transaction volumes.
Adoption Drivers Beyond Crypto
While stablecoins remain critical to the crypto-native ecosystem, their adoption is expanding across:
- Digitally native corporations, leveraging programmable payments and real-time settlement.
- Global trade flows and offshore demand for USD-denominated assets, especially in frontier and emerging markets.
- E-commerce platforms, benefiting from faster, lower-cost cross-border payments.
Regulatory Maturity
The report also emphasizes regulatory clarity as a prerequisite for institutional adoption. Frameworks such as MiCA in Europe, VARA and FSRA in the UAE, and new regimes in Asia and the U.S. are setting capital, reserve, and disclosure standards that will underpin trust and scalability for large market participants.
Strategic Implications for Institutions
For financial institutions, stablecoins are no longer experimental but represent a strategic opportunity to optimize liquidity, settlement, and treasury management. Large corporations are particularly focused on programmability, enabling compliance at the point of transaction and unlocking efficiencies across reconciliation and reporting.
Aquanow’s engagement in shaping this dialogue, through CEO Phil Sham’s contribution to the Citi GPS report, reflects our broader commitment to advancing the digital asset ecosystem. Beyond thought leadership, we work directly with financial institutions worldwide to enable digital asset functionality, engage regulators on emerging frameworks, and build the technology that supports institutional-scale adoption.
🔗 Access the full Citi GPS Stablecoins 2030 report here
