Crypto for Advisors: Stablecoins are ready for prime time

CoinDesk's weekly newsletter, Crypto for Advisors, explores the growing role of cryptocurrency in financial advisory services. In this edition, Prashant Kher from EY-Parthenon discusses the recent findings of a survey on the adoption of stablecoins by corporations and financial institutions. The survey reveals a significant increase in the use of stablecoins, with 18% of corporations using them in production, up from 9% in the previous year's survey.

Tokenized deposits follow closely behind, with 15% of corporations already adopting this technology. Financial institutions are also jumping on the bandwagon, with 69% offering or planning to offer stablecoin services within the next two years, compared to only 30% in 2025. A majority of respondents, 56%, cite slow processing and settlement times, foreign exchange costs, regulatory delays, and correspondent banking fees as the main challenges in cross-border payments.

To address these issues, stablecoins and tokenized deposits are gaining traction as cross-border B2B payment solutions. Additionally, tokenized asset settlement is emerging as a valuable use case for blockchain payments, with 63% of financial institutions expressing interest in this application. Financial institutions recognize the potential of blockchain payments, with 76% considering integration with existing enterprise systems very important or critical.

This integration provides a strategic advantage, as 63% of corporations would likely adopt blockchain payments if offered by their existing bank or payments provider.