STABLECOINS GO MAINSTREAM AS PAYMENTS BOOM Stripe says stablecoins are becoming a core part of global payments infrastructure, no longer tied to crypto price swings. Stablecoin payment volumes doubled in 2025, even as Bitcoin declined, driven by growing real-world use in business transactions. However, current blockchains may struggle to keep up, with Stripe warning future systems may need to handle millions to billions of transactions per second as automated, AI-driven commerce expands.(*Walter Bloomberg)