Global remittances are a colossal lifeline estimated at over $900 billion in 2024 with a big slice of this flowing into low and middle income countries including India, Mexico, China, the Philippines among others, according to the World Bank. For the receiving economies, these flows represent a vital source of foreign exchange, providing crucial liquidity that stabilizes national currencies and finances imports. More importantly, these funds are the foundation of financial stability for millions of families; they are typically used for essential needs like food, healthcare, education, and starting small businesses.
For workers sending remittances, however, traditional banking systems are slow, costly, and inefficient, directly diminishing the value of this essential support.
Global Adoption and Rapid Growth of Stablecoins
Stablecoins, digital currencies pegged to fiat assets like the U.S. dollar, are rapidly changing this landscape by injecting speed and cost-efficiency into cross-border payments. The combined market capitalization of the two largest stablecoins, USDC and USDT, reached over $260 billion in 2025, having roughly doubled since the start of 2023, showcasing their explosive growth as a preferred medium of global exchange.
Analysts project the total stablecoin market cap could surge toward $2 trillion by 2028, driven almost entirely by payment use cases and institutional adoption following new regulatory clarity.
How Coins.ph is Accelerating this Shift
Coins.ph, the largest and pioneering crypto exchange in the Philippines, has aggressively expanded its stablecoin infrastructure through strategic global partnerships with global companies such as BCRemit, Hashkey, Hi-Globe and FinFan. This network creates compliant, near-instant payment corridors between major sending markets like Hong Kong, Vietnam, UK, US, Canada and the European Union, and the Philippines), allowing money senders to bypass costly bank intermediaries and ensure more of their remittances reach home quickly.
“We are aggressively supporting stablecoin remittances because they solve the fundamental problems of cost and time that plague millions of migrant workers. Stablecoins offer a pathway to near-instant, compliant transfers at a fraction of the current cost, ensuring more of that hard-earned funds reaches home. This isn’t just an improvement—it’s the potential for a massive, equitable shift that truly empowers the Filipino diaspora,” says Wei Zhou, Coins.ph Chief Executive Officer.
Here are the five key ways stablecoin remittances are improving cross-border payments, particularly for emerging markets:
1. Drastic Reduction in Transaction Costs
The most significant and immediate benefit for migrant workers is the elimination of excessive fees. Traditional remittance costs or the fee to send money internationally through banks and money transfer operators, still average 6.62% globally as of Q3 2024, according to the World Bank. This is more than twice the UN Sustainable Development Goal Target 10.c of reducing costs to less than 3% by 2030. These high fees disproportionately affect the poorest families.
Stablecoin remittances, by leveraging efficient blockchain networks, bypass the multiple intermediary banks and correspondent fees of the legacy system, drastically reducing the cost. For example, in competitive corridors, stablecoin transaction costs can often drop to under 1% of the transfer value, representing massive savings for the sender. This cost-saving is critical for countries like the Philippines, where remittances are a major economic pillar. By ensuring that more of the $38.34 billion sent by Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) stays with their families, stablecoins directly fight poverty and inject greater liquidity into the local economy.
2. Near-Instant Settlement Speed and 24/7 Availability
Traditional cross-border payments rely on legacy correspondent banking networks with restricted operating hours and batch processing, leading to settlement times that can range from 3 to 5 business days. This delay poses a major financial and logistical problem for families dependent on timely support.
Stablecoins enable near-instant settlement. Transfers on the blockchain are typically finalized within minutes, regardless of geographic location, time zone, or banking holidays. This 24/7/365 “always-on” capability is revolutionary, ensuring that funds reach recipients in countries like The Philippines, Pakistan and India immediately. This improves working capital management for the sender and gives recipients reliable, fast access to funds for emergencies or daily needs.
Zhou commented on the shift, asserting that “Stablecoins are leading the digital transformation of cross-border payments. By adopting stablecoin rails for remittances, we are enabling near real-time, low-cost transfers that offer overseas Filipinos and their families greater value, transparency, and financial freedom.”
3. Increased Financial Inclusion for the Unbanked
Stablecoin remittances fundamentally democratize access to global finance. In many emerging markets, a significant portion of the population remains unbanked or underbanked, as traditional services often require formal bank accounts or physical branch locations, limiting access in rural or underserved regions.
Stablecoins require only a mobile device and a digital wallet to send and receive funds. This minimal requirement removes a major barrier to entry, empowering migrant workers to send money directly to family members who may not have access to a traditional bank account. This provides them with a secure, digital store of value pegged to a stable currency like the USD. This drive for inclusivity is a primary reason why emerging markets like the Philippines and Brazil are seeing rapid growth in global crypto adoption.
4. Mitigation of Foreign Exchange (FX) Risk and Opacity
The traditional system subjects users to hidden fees and unpredictable currency conversion losses that occur as funds pass through multiple intermediaries and are exposed to various currency market fluctuations.
Because the most popular stablecoins are pegged to strong fiat currencies, particularly USD, they provide a stable, predictable unit of account throughout the transfer process. This transparency and stability shield the value of the remittance from local currency volatility and opaque FX spreads, a key concern in emerging markets where local currencies can experience rapid devaluation. This feature is particularly appealing to individuals who use stablecoins as an effective USD-denominated savings account to preserve their purchasing power.
5. Enabling New, Programmable Financial Services
Beyond simple person-to-person money transfers, stablecoins create a robust, programmable foundation for future financial innovation. The transactions are digital, transparent, and settled on an immutable ledger.
This inherent programmability allows for sophisticated, innovative services like automated micropayments, real-
A Fundamental Restructuring of Global Finance
The rise of stablecoin remittances is not merely a technological upgrade but a fundamental restructuring of global finance. With the unprecedented savings, speed, and access they offer, stablecoins dismantle the costly barriers built by decades of slow traditional systems.
As regulatory frameworks solidify globally the utility and mainstream acceptance of stablecoins is expected to accelerate, ensuring that migrant workers and their families in emerging markets can finally retain more of their hard-earned money and receive it when they need it most.
To learn more about how Coin’s stablecoin partnerships, visit www.coins.ph or https://
About Coins.ph
Coins.ph is an all-in-one financial app for millions, seamlessly fusing traditional finance with digital assets. Established in 2014, it stands as the Philippines’ premier cryptocurrency exchange. Licensed by the BSP as both a virtual asset marketplace and a mobile wallet, the platform empowers users to trade, and execute payments all in one secure place.
