Research
Where Stablecoins Actually Work (and Where They Don’t) — 5 Takeaways from Stable SF
Jun 16, 2025
The “real-world use case” panel paired builders on the money front lines: Acctual (accounts payable), Mesh (payments connectivity), Paxos (issuer & broker), and Borderless (global rails). Moderator Patrick Yang kept them honest. Here’s what stuck.
1. Abstraction beats evangelism
Actual lets a U.S. landlord pay a Nigerian agency via plain-vanilla ACH; the freelancer receives USDT on Tron the same day, fee <1 %. Neither side touches a new app.
Why it matters: Sellers get hard dollars, buyers keep existing workflows—a blueprint for mainstream adoption.
2. Fragmentation is the real enemy of checkout
Arjun from Mesh counted three fractures—accounts, assets, networks—and admitted that’s why crypto still isn’t a coffee-shop tender. Mesh is building a routing layer that hides all three.
Why it matters: Until a barista can accept “whatever balance you’ve got,” retail payments will lag behind B2B and remittances.
3. Not every dollar-token is created equal
Paxos laid out a checklist: T-bill reserves, minimal uninsured bank deposits, daily disclosure, and a watchdog that can yank the reins in bad times.
Why it matters: Enterprises won’t keep treasury in a token they can’t diligence. Transparency converts curiosity into volume.
4. Cross-border B2B is the low-hanging fruit
Kevin at Borderless sees PFIs across Africa, LATAM and Europe moving exporters, payroll, and vendor payouts long before retail swipe fees collapse. Corridors like USD-EUR, with razor-thin FX spreads, still belong to Swift.
Why it matters: Target the lanes where stablecoins save days and percentage points, not the ones they merely match.
5. Networks win by being neutral
Borderless plugs multiple issuers (USDC, PYUSD, USDT) and licensed partners into one fabric, letting PSPs pick routes and manage counterparty risk instead of betting on a single brand.
Why it matters: A rail that refuses tribalism can serve banks, wallets, and future tokens alike—key for the next decade of integrations.
Bottom line:
Stablecoins shine where they mask complexity—payables, cross-border B2B, and remittances. They stumble where UX and regulation still clash. Fix fragmentation and compliance, and “crypto payments” becomes just “payments.”
