Juan Marchetti, director of the World Trade Organization’s trade in services and investment division, identified regulatory fragmentation as the main barrier to stablecoin adoption in international trade. Speaking at the launch of a WTO study in Geneva, Marchetti emphasized that the constraint is not technological but stems from the lack of developed regulatory frameworks. He cited an October 2025 Financial Stability Board report noting that only 39% of surveyed jurisdictions have finalized their stablecoin regulations. Consequently, stablecoins currently account for just 3% of total international payments despite their potential to address friction points such as high costs, low speed, limited access, insufficient transparency, and foreign exchange limitations.
The WTO report highlighted that stablecoin payments in cross-border transactions grew 35-fold between 2020 and mid-2024. While developing economies stand to benefit most through reduced remittance fees, they possess the least developed regulatory regimes to facilitate this adoption. Major payment processors are actively exploring these technologies; Mastercard recently partnered with Borderless to pilot trust mechanisms for cross-border transfers and announced plans to include stablecoin settlement capabilities. Similarly, Western Union launched a digital wallet and Visa-branded card with Rain, enabling users to hold and spend US dollar-backed stablecoins in 37 markets, with expansion to over 60 markets planned by year-end.
The WTO’s assessment underscores a critical disconnect between the technical viability of stablecoins and their operational readiness within global financial infrastructure. The data indicates that while market demand and transaction volumes are expanding rapidly, the legal certainty required for institutional integration remains largely absent. This regulatory vacuum creates a bifurcated landscape where private sector innovation outpaces public policy, limiting the systemic impact of stablecoins in mainstream trade finance.
From a Market Structure perspective, the disparity between developed and emerging economies’ regulatory maturity poses significant risks to equitable adoption. Developing nations, which could derive the greatest utility from reduced remittance costs, are hindered by the very frameworks needed to unlock that value. Stakeholders should monitor whether major jurisdictions accelerate finalization of stablecoin rules to match the pace of private-sector pilots by entities like Mastercard and Western Union, as regulatory clarity will likely determine the next phase of institutional adoption.
