Stablecoin payment volume climbed 45% to $482 billion from January through September 2026, according to Allium's latest report, even as total stablecoin supply grew just 0.4% to $305 billion as of September 30.
September set a monthly record with $72 billion in stablecoin payments, while the third quarter overall grew 51% compared to the same period a year earlier. Transaction counts outpaced dollar growth, with payments jumping 71% to 1.04 billion transactions over the first nine months. However, the average payment size contracted from $544 to $462.
Business Use Cases Drive Activity
Business transactions, payroll, and cross-border payments emerged as major use cases, with businesses as the primary beneficiaries. Payments made by AI agents doubled to 68.3 million transactions in the third quarter.
Card Networks Expand Programs
Visa launched more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs worldwide, with payment volume on those programs up nearly 200% year-over-year. Visa's annualized run rate for stablecoin settlements passed $20 billion.
Mastercard pursued infrastructure expansion through its acquisition of BVNK, giving the company more direct control over stablecoin payment rails. Card spending funded by stablecoins grew roughly tenfold to $3.9 billion in the third quarter.
Supply Shifts to Smaller Issuers
Tether, Circle, and Ethena, three of the largest stablecoin issuers, all saw their supply contract in 2026. Smaller issuers added a net $6.9 billion in supply, offsetting the decline and keeping the overall total relatively level.
The divergence between flat supply and sharply rising payment volumes and transaction counts suggests increased velocity in the stablecoin market, while the shift in supply growth toward smaller issuers points to a more fragmented competitive landscape.
