Are Stablecoins Ushering Crypto into the Real Economy?

By Taylor Bell, updated July 7, 2025

It wasn’t all that long ago that stablecoins were a utility token that very few cared to use or know about—a cheat code for crypto buyers, if you will, who wanted to park funds without fully jumping back into fiat.

Fast forward to 2025, and these digital assets have begun to emerge as a genuinely crucial bridge between blockchain systems and the mainstream financial world. Not only have they infiltrated backend infrastructure and institutional ledgers; they’re now altering consumer behavior in everything from gig economy wages to how online gamblers spin their slot games.

The rise of fiat and asset-pegged stablecoins is actually shaping up to be one of the biggest stories of the decade in the crypto space. Why? Let’s unpack it, one key development at a time.

Stablecoins in the Casino: A Use Case That’s Already Here

Stablecoins. We’ll bet your first thought jumped to pages of finance documents, tracking price changes over time, right? We’ll get there shortly, but let’s first kick off with something you probably wouldn’t expect: online gambling.

iGaming, as it’s also known, has always operated on the edges of financial innovation—security and cross-border payments are the lifeblood of the industry. Consequently, it has become one of the first consumer sectors to both boost and benefit from the real-world impact of stablecoins.

First, digital wallets like Neteller and Skrill fulfilled the need for casino and poker operators to provide fast alternatives to sluggish debit cards and week-long bank wire transfers. Then, brands opened their doors to cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin and ETH leading the charge. In the current landscape, a number of leading platforms enable users to play Bitcoin slot games, and the world’s first crypto remains a leading consumer choice.

Bitcoin slot games quickly became popular and widespread, offering a range of themes and features. Their popularity was further enhanced by operators incentivizing play by including great bonuses and freebies for those playing with crypto. A lot of people moved toward Bitcoin slots as a result, and many have remained in this space, enjoying all it has to offer. However, these operators have also begun to fold stablecoins into their payment options.

USDT, USDC, and asset-backed equivalents offer not just the rapid transfer speeds BTC players enjoy, but crucially, price consistency. You load your player account with 100 USDC and it stays 100 USDC. It might be less exciting than playing with Bitcoin, but it is easier in some ways.

That’s powerful, and it builds layers of trust. When the only volatility that players have to concern themselves with is the inner workings of the hot drop jackpot title in play, they’re a lot more open to exploring what else crypto has to offer. Online gaming becomes a doorway to DeFi, and holding stablecoins in a wallet—even just to fund a wager—is very often someone’s first real step into the world of alternative currencies.

Of course, stablecoins are also taking root in much larger systems, championed by digital nomads and tech-savvy entrepreneurs. They’re thriving, simply because you don’t have to be a crypto die-hard to use them.

The Bigger Picture

Now, let’s zoom out and take a look at what’s changing on the infrastructure level.

In hot off the press news, Coinbase has launched a full-blown stablecoin payment stack on its Ethereum layer-2 network base. It’s effectively providing a turnkey solution for merchants to trade with USDC (24/7) without needing blockchain expertise. So no having to touch volatile assets or get up to speed with external banking rails. By taking this major step to integrate USDC with platforms like Shopify, the crypto exchange’s shares have already jumped up by significant amounts.

Meanwhile, Circle (CRCL), the USDC issuer powering the stack, has seen its shares surge by 25%. That’s not all, though. There’s talk of the coin being accepted as a collateral for futures clearinghouses, which will ramp up adoption of stablecoins in markets across the U.S. (source: Coin Desk).

Even Amazon and Walmart are reportedly “exploring stablecoin partnerships as a way to bypass credit card companies merchant fees,” according to DigFin.

These shifts are making traditional sectors nervous—just ask the card issuers whose stocks have dropped now that stablecoins are in the spotlight. Breaking news from MSN shows that both VISA and Mastercard—the powerhouses of global commerce—have seen interest fall by 4% and 3.4% respectively.

These developments mean there can be little question that it’s an exciting time for crypto enthusiasts and many people think that we might be approaching the point where paying for your groceries with crypto becomes commonplace. We’re certainly not there yet, but it’s an exciting prospect.

Where Stablecoins Fit in the Crypto Future

Where does all of this leave us? Interestingly, in a rare moment of alignment. ICO buyers, developers, consumers, institutions… we all now have a use case for the same tool.

No, stablecoins aren’t trying to replace BTC. Nor are they gunning for Ethereum’s smart contract dominance either. What they are doing is providing a new kind of digital-first finance, which blends real-world activity with truly reliable tokenization.