Recently, I looked at a stablecoin market cap report, and the data is indeed eye-catching. The total market cap of stablecoins has officially surpassed $310 billion, representing a 70% increase over the past year. What does this growth rate mean? Some leading tech stocks haven't even matched this increase.

The underlying phenomenon is quite clear: institutions and large investors are expressing their views through concrete actions. Stablecoins have evolved from simple risk-hedging tools into more complex roles.

What does the future hold? Several key directions deserve attention:

**From Transit Hub to Underlying Infrastructure**
Stop viewing stablecoins merely as a stepping stone for trading. Imagine a scenario where cross-border shopping settlements, payroll payments, and digital asset transactions all use stablecoins for settlement. This would be the true digital cash layer of the internet.

**The Lifeblood of the DeFi Ecosystem**
On-chain lending, liquidity mining, derivatives trading—these all require stablecoins to provide sufficient liquidity. The larger the stablecoin market cap, the more active the entire ecosystem. This isn't just an added value; it's the core foundation.

**Traditional Payment Giants' Bets**
Institutions like PayPal and Visa have already entered the space. What are they after? The next level of the payment battlefield—which could be a trillion-dollar market.

Some industry forecasts suggest that by 2028, stablecoin supply could reach $2 trillion. If this comes true, the current market cap will seem very early-stage.

But the biggest variable is regulation. Policies on stablecoins in different countries will determine whether this track experiences rapid growth or stalls. How this hurdle is overcome will directly impact the industry's ceiling.