Stablecoin-settled perpetual contracts tied to traditional financial assets generated over $1.1 trillion in trading volume during the first half of 2026, according to a new report from Binance Research, highlighting how stablecoins are cementing their role as the preferred settlement layer for tokenized financial markets.
TradFi Perps Now 11% of All Crypto Perpetual Volume
Binance Research found that TradFi-linked perpetual contracts now account for roughly 11% of total crypto perpetual trading volume through the first five months of 2026. The milestone underscores how stablecoin infrastructure has expanded well beyond purely crypto-native speculation into products tracking conventional financial assets. The figures come from Binance, the largest venue for this trading, which has a commercial interest in the segment’s growth.
Beyond derivatives, the report found that stablecoins are increasingly being held as long-term stores of value. Binance data showed that 30% of exchange users now keep more than half of their portfolios in stablecoins, a dramatic jump from just 4% in 2020.
Global Stablecoin Market Crosses $311 Billion
The broader stablecoin market cap climbed to approximately $311 billion, up from around $254 billion a year earlier, according to DefiLlama data cited in the report. Transaction throughput has followed: Visa’s Allium-powered stablecoin dashboard recorded adjusted stablecoin volume hitting a record $1.79 trillion in June, surpassing the previous peak set in February.
Latin America Doubles Its Share of Stablecoin Transfers
Binance Research identified Latin America as a key growth market for stablecoin payment adoption. The region’s share of Binance stablecoin transfer users more than doubled to 38% in 2026, up from 17% in 2025, driven by demand for faster and cheaper cross-border payments.
Separate data from Mexico City-based exchange Bitso supports the trend. US dollar-pegged stablecoins accounted for 40% of crypto asset purchases on Bitso’s platform in 2025, surpassing Bitcoin’s 18% share for the first time.
The scale of the opportunity is substantial. Former Bybit executive Claudia Wang estimated in May that remittance corridors outside the US-to-Mexico market alone represent a $112 billion opportunity for stablecoin issuers.
Traditional Remittance Players Enter the Stablecoin Space
Legacy money transfer firms are moving quickly to capture that opportunity. Western Union launched its USDPT stablecoin on the Solana network for cross-border payments in May. MoneyGram followed in June with its MGUSD stablecoin on the Stellar network, making blockchain-based international transfers available through its consumer app.
