Use Cases
Stablecoin-based payments have numerous key use cases that previously were financially restrictive or not viable with legacy payment rails. This is because stablecoins are permissionless, programmable, cheap and fast.
Remittances
Global money movement has consistently faced limitations across both legacy and modern payment rails. Existing means of achieving cross-border payments can result in exorbitant fees for users. Further, moving money through traditional corridors can take anywhere from several business days to multiple weeks.
Stablecoins, on the other hand, are borderless by default, meaning people do not need to pay any additional fees to move their digital dollars across borders. Remittances with stablecoins can be substantially cheaper, with the main cost for users occurring when they off-ramp their stablecoins into their local currency.
Plasma is designed to reduce these costs to zero, both for cash settlement and onchain USD₮ transfers.
Micropayments
With legacy rails, micropayments are not viable given that the cost to move these small sums of money will likely be greater than the value itself. Nonetheless, micropayments are still important for a variety of evolving internet-native industries.
Stablecoins are the perfect tool to achieve this. Fees to move stablecoins on most blockchain networks are lower than that of moving money with traditional rails; on Plasma, transfer fees for USD₮ will be $0.
With the programmability of stablecoins, companies can automate these micropayments to lower the effective cost entirely. Businesses can manage their entire payment stack for employees and contributors in gig economies.
Global Payouts
Modern companies are global, both in terms of reach and employees. Additionally, companies operate globally across supply chains, development cycles, and other functions. In these cases, there is a need to pay employees or workers all over the world.
These transfers can get expensive. Many workers in emerging markets lack access to adequate banking services, making it even more difficult for businesses to pay their employees.
Stablecoins change this; companies or individuals can create wallets, and receive stablecoins like USD₮ with no restrictions or exorbitant fees.
Merchant Acceptance
Merchants worldwide, both online and offline, can accept stablecoin payments directly, enabling instant settlement, reduced transaction fees, and global reach without intermediaries.
This enables businesses to integrate onchain payments into point-of-sale systems or e-commerce platforms, while maintaining full custody and transparency.
As a result, these merchants are expanding their potential user base through allowing people to pay with permissionless, digital dollars.
Dollar Access
.png)
In many regions, access to US dollars is limited or outright restricted due to tight capital controls, inflationary local currencies, and exclusion from the global banking system. These constraints expose people and businesses to severe currency devaluation, negatively impacting their purchasing power and making long-term financial planning difficult.
Traditional avenues for acquiring dollars, such as offshore accounts or informal currency exchanges, are often inaccessible, expensive, or risky. As a result, entire populations are left without a stable store of value or means of transacting internationally.
Stablecoins like USD₮ provide a permissionless way to access dollars. With only a mobile phone and internet connection, individuals can hold and use digital dollars securely, gaining access to global markets and preserving value in the face of local economic instability.
Permissionless Banking
Stablecoins, namely USD₮, are fundamentally a saving tool. Over 40% of the 100+ million USD₮ holders use the stablecoin as a store of value, reflecting its role as a dollar-denominated safe haven in economies with limited access to stable local currencies or formal banking infrastructure.
Traditional banking systems remain largely exclusionary. Financial institutions serve only users who meet profitability thresholds, often excluding those in developing markets or without formal identification.
Stablecoins remove these barriers. With a mobile phone and internet connection, anyone can save, spend, send, and earn using stablecoin-native applications. This unlocks the essential functions of banking, custody, payments, and yield in a format that is globally accessible, programmable, and permissionless.