A report by Coinbase and The Block Pro Research found that average hourly organic transfer volume in stablecoins exceeded $400 million, while a separate annual measure showed that 73% of volume occurred outside U.S. banking hours.
The study, titled “The Always-On Dollar,” focuses on how stablecoins are used to transfer money at any hour of the day. In the third quarter of 2026, organic transfer volume averaged more than $400 million per hour. About 73% of the transfer volume examined over the 12-month period ending July 31 took place outside U.S. banks’ operating hours.
The report explains the importance of this around-the-clock access for businesses in terms of being able to use money instead of having it sit idle during the transfer process. Faster payment settlement can reduce companies’ need to pre-fund payment accounts, leaving more cash available for operations or investment.
An 86% cost difference on a $200 remittance
For individual users, the standout comparison is remittance fees. According to the study, sending $200 in USDC over the Base network is about 86% cheaper than the comparison with traditional payment channels. The report says this cost difference is especially significant for people who work in other countries and send money home.
Another measure of the scale of transfers shows that adjusted stablecoin transaction volume has quadrupled since early 2023, reaching $891 billion in the third quarter. If the current growth rate continues, quarterly adjusted transfer volume could reach $1.5 trillion by the end of 2027.
Seven of the largest U.S. banks are also testing them
Traditional financial institutions are testing the infrastructure, too. Seven of the 10 largest U.S. banks have tested stablecoins or tokenized deposits for settling payments. The other three banks have also reported plans to do so.
The study highlights payments by artificial intelligence agents as the next use case. An agent paying another agent for a task, or purchasing one-time data and computing power, creates a need for small, instant transfers. Stablecoins could be used for these transactions.
According to a McKinsey estimate cited in the report, $3 trillion to $5 trillion of global business-to-consumer commerce could be conducted through AI agents by 2030. This estimate refers to total commerce facilitated by agents, not stablecoin volume.
Not investment advice.