Citi Institute expects the global stablecoin market to grow to nearly $1.9 trillion by 2030, according to its latest report, Stablecoins 2030 – Web3 to Wall Street. The analysis highlights a growing role for regulated digital dollars in global commerce as financial systems adopt tokenized settlement and programmable money. The report outlines a base-case scenario of $1.9 trillion and a more optimistic projection of $4 trillion if regulatory clarity and institutional adoption progress more quickly. Ronit Ghose, Global Head of the Future of Finance Institute at Citi, said stablecoins are shifting from being speculative crypto assets to becoming the “plumbing” of a digitized financial world. The study links this transition to advancements in blockchain infrastructure and stronger monetary frameworks that integrate digital assets into regulated payment systems.
Citi’s analysis attributes the next wave of growth to increasing demand for efficient, low-cost global payment networks. The report emphasizes that stablecoins have proven their usefulness as a bridge between decentralized finance and traditional financial systems, offering 24/7 transaction settlement and faster liquidity movement. Institutions are exploring stablecoin rails for cross-border payments, trade financing, and treasury management. Regulatory progress, including the implementation of the U.S. Genius Act and the European Union’s MiCA framework, has boosted confidence among corporate and financial participants. Citi researchers said a clear and harmonized rule set across major economies could drive the next phase of institutional entry, bringing in large banks, fintech firms, and multinational corporations seeking programmable money for real-world use cases.
The report also identifies a convergence between stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and central-bank digital currencies as part of a new architecture of digital finance. Citi projects that over the coming decade, blockchain-based settlement will evolve into a multi-layered system where regulated stablecoins play a central role in on-chain value transfer. This infrastructure, the bank said, will reduce reliance on intermediaries and expand access to digital assets across borders while maintaining financial compliance. The institute points to the growing volume of tokenized assets, such as government bonds and money-market instruments, which are increasingly settled using stablecoins. The data suggest that as institutional trading migrates on-chain, the velocity and demand for compliant stablecoins will rise proportionally.
Citi’s forecast positions the stablecoin sector as a defining growth driver in digital markets this decade. The bank notes that stablecoins currently represent less than two percent of global money supply, leaving substantial room for expansion. Analysts estimate that by 2030, more than half of tokenized transactions could use stablecoins as their settlement layer. The report concludes that this transformation will not depend on speculative adoption but on practical integration into everyday finance, from remittances to institutional payments, as tokenization becomes a mainstream mechanism for transferring value.
