Stablecoins Become Payments Infrastructure
Bhanu Kohli, CEO of Layer2 Financial, on stablecoin-backed payments for platforms
The big change is that stablecoins now solve an actual payments problem, while Bitcoin mostly asked businesses to absorb an asset bet. For a platform moving $50,000 to $100,000 at a time, price swings kill economics, but dollar backed coins can be used as a temporary settlement rail, then converted back to fiat on each end. That makes them useful for supplier payouts, treasury movement, and remittances in a way BTC never was.
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Ten years ago, Bitcoin payments were aimed at checkout. That meant merchants or processors had to manage volatility, slow confirmation, and low consumer demand. Layer2 describes current demand as businesses wanting on ramping, off ramping, third party payouts, and large corporate transfers, which is a very different workflow from retail checkout.
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What unlocked the market was not just the token, but the surrounding plumbing. Cross border customers now care about stablecoins as bridge currency between local bank rails, because SWIFT is slow and expensive, and many markets have poor access to dollars. Airwallex built a big business by bypassing SWIFT with local accounts, and stablecoins push that idea further with 24,7 settlement.
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The strongest sign this is infrastructure, not hype, is where adoption is showing up. Stripe bought Bridge in February 2025, then expanded stablecoin accounts and card issuing, with examples like SpaceX repatriating funds and Visa cards spending directly from stablecoin balances. That is enterprise treasury and platform payouts, not speculative crypto commerce.
The next phase is stablecoins disappearing into normal payments software. The winners will be platforms that combine wallets, compliance, FX, bank rails, and card or payout products so users simply see faster cross border money movement. As liquidity deepens and regulation clarifies, stablecoins will keep taking share from SWIFT in the corridors where speed, dollar access, and working capital matter most.