# Payments Related Articles

HTX News Center provides the latest articles and in-depth analysis on "Payments", covering market trends, project updates, tech developments, and regulatory policies in the crypto industry.

Forbes Feature: Stablecoin Cross-Border Payments Are Faster, But Not Yet Cheaper

A Forbes feature delves into the state of stablecoin-based cross-border payments, noting rapid growth but a key shortfall: while faster and more accessible, they are not yet cheaper. At a recent industry conference in Mexico City, optimism about technology, regulation, and volume was tempered by discussions with practitioners. The core issue is liquidity. Traditional FX brokers charge 60-70 basis points, and stablecoins promise to slash this to 2-5 basis points. However, this theoretical cost advantage cannot be realized until deep liquidity pools are established at scale, requiring significant institutional capital inflow. A major adoption barrier is trust. Businesses often rely on long-standing relationships with traditional brokers, valuing reliability over marginal cost savings. This shift will be gradual. Furthermore, successful companies in the space are not positioning themselves as replacements for legacy systems like SWIFT, but as complements. They leverage stablecoins for speed while using traditional rails for their standardization and reliability in ensuring accurate payment details—a critical factor for supplier payments to avoid customs issues. Companies like Caliza, experiencing high monthly growth, exemplify this hybrid approach. The industry anticipates consolidation, as long-term viability will depend on securing the essential trifecta: proper licensing, robust fiat on/off-ramps, and deep liquidity. Without these, firms risk being mere intermediaries rather than building sustainable businesses.

marsbit07/05 09:23

Forbes Feature: Stablecoin Cross-Border Payments Are Faster, But Not Yet Cheaper

marsbit07/05 09:23

Visa-Mastercard Stablecoin Debate Puts XRP Ledger Design Back In Focus

A new consortium-backed stablecoin project called Open USD (OUSD), involving major firms like Visa, Mastercard, and Ripple, has reignited discussions about the XRP Ledger's (XRPL) design. Notably, former Ripple engineer Matt Hamilton highlighted that OUSD's multi-lateral reserve-sharing structure resembles concepts present in XRPL's architecture since 2012. This is a technical comparison, not an announcement of OUSD launching on or being built by Ripple. The project's initial rollout is expected on Solana and Tempo. For the XRP community, the significance lies in the validation of XRPL's early design principles for fast settlement and asset issuance, now being revisited by major financial players in the stablecoin space. The debate underscores XRPL's historical foresight but does not guarantee direct integration or usage. The focus should remain on the technical parallels and the broader utility narrative for XRPL, avoiding unwarranted claims of direct involvement.

bitcoinist07/02 23:06

Visa-Mastercard Stablecoin Debate Puts XRP Ledger Design Back In Focus

bitcoinist07/02 23:06

TRON Activity Hits Record High As Stablecoin Settlement Dominates

TRON network activity reached record highs in June 2026, driven primarily by stablecoin settlement. The network processed $1.96 trillion in stablecoin volume in Q1 2026, with USDT transfers being a key use case. This positions TRON as a major, practical infrastructure for cheap and fast dollar-value transfers, especially outside the US. While its activity is concentrated in payments rather than a diverse dApp ecosystem, this highlights a clear utility. The data underscores that high network throughput can reflect recurring financial infrastructure use, not just speculative activity.

bitcoinist07/02 22:21

TRON Activity Hits Record High As Stablecoin Settlement Dominates

bitcoinist07/02 22:21

Tiger Research: Crypto Payment Cards Handling $1.5B Monthly Volume Stuck in the 1990s

Titled "Crypto Payment Cards at a $1.5 Billion Monthly Volume, Stuck in the 1990s," this article analyzes the crypto payment card industry, arguing its development stage is analogous to debit cards before they became core banking accounts. Despite rapid growth to ~$15B monthly volume, usage is concentrated in emerging markets (e.g., Bangladesh, India) where access to USD is limited, not in developed economies. The industry lacks integration into daily financial life—most cards rely on user-topped-up stablecoins, not payroll deposits or recurring payments, resulting in low circulation velocity compared to fiat. The piece outlines four main business models: 1) Issuing Infrastructure (highly concentrated, with players like Rain offering T+0 stablecoin settlement), 2) Exchange-Issued Cards (for user retention, not core revenue), 3) Decentralized Wallet/DeFi Cards (complex, high-Gas, limited to crypto-natives), and 4) Stablecoin Digital Banks (the largest segment by volume, focusing on account functions for emerging markets). The conclusion warns that pure payment functionality is unsustainable. For long-term viability, companies must control the funds flow, secure niche markets, and build indispensable user account relationships—similar to how traditional banks captured primary accounts. Without this, crypto cards risk remaining niche prepaid tools.

marsbit07/02 12:40

Tiger Research: Crypto Payment Cards Handling $1.5B Monthly Volume Stuck in the 1990s

marsbit07/02 12:40

Dragonfly Partner: OUSD's Arrival, the Fate of the Three Stablecoin Giants Diverges

OUSD's launch introduces complex implications for the stablecoin market, particularly affecting the three major issuers—Circle, Tether, and Paxos—differently. For Circle (CRCL), the immediate market reaction was negative, with its stock dropping significantly upon the announcement. While Circle faces pressure from potential shifts in partnerships (like with Coinbase) and new competition from OUSD, it retains advantages such as a deeply integrated, high-liquidity infrastructure and first-mover status. However, OUSD could become the default choice for many Stripe partners if it achieves sufficient liquidity, potentially eroding USDC's position in certain segments. Circle's lack of an investment-grade credit rating remains a hurdle for large corporate adoption. Tether is largely insulated, as OUSD targets a different market segment; Tether will continue focusing on underserved markets. In contrast, Paxos faces a serious threat, as OUSD undermines the competitive edge of its USDG stablecoin and diminishes its regulatory compliance advantage. This has driven Paxos to pivot toward brokerage and BaaS services. Overall, while OUSD's entry intensifies competition and may alter market dynamics, it is not a death knell for Circle but underscores the need for accelerated innovation and strategic acquisitions to defend its position.

Foresight News07/02 07:02

Dragonfly Partner: OUSD's Arrival, the Fate of the Three Stablecoin Giants Diverges

Foresight News07/02 07:02

Sui And Paga Partner To Bring Tokenized Assets To African Markets

Sui Foundation partners with African payments firm Paga to explore tokenized real-world assets and blockchain-based financial tools across African markets. The collaboration leverages Sui's high-speed blockchain for settlement and Paga's extensive local payments network and market understanding. This aims to bring practical tokenization infrastructure to millions of users, focusing on solving real financial access problems. Key rollout details, including specific assets, access, and compliance, will depend on local licensing, regulation, and adoption. The partnership highlights a shift in DeFi toward practical market structures integrated with existing payments rails.

bitcoinist07/01 23:51

Sui And Paga Partner To Bring Tokenized Assets To African Markets

bitcoinist07/01 23:51

Grayscale's Latest Research: What is Solana's Next Growth Engine?

Grayscale's latest report, "Solana: Crypto's Financial Bazaar," signals a shift in how the market views Solana, moving beyond its high-performance and meme-centric reputation. The report frames Solana as an evolving application platform for large-scale economic activity, akin to a bustling digital marketplace. The analysis highlights that public chain competition has moved past raw throughput (TPS) to focus on genuine economic activity—daily users, transaction volume, and real revenue. Solana's metrics, such as over 1,000 dApps, 100M+ daily transactions, and ~4.3M daily active users, showcase this shift toward application-layer prosperity. The report identifies three key growth drivers: 1. **Jupiter**: Evolving from a DEX aggregator to a core liquidity hub and comprehensive financial platform for Solana's DeFi. 2. **Pump.fun**: Demonstrates Solana's capacity for consumer-scale applications, attracting millions of users and generating significant, sustainable revenue, validating network stability under high load. 3. **Helium & DePIN**: Represents expansion into real-world infrastructure, connecting blockchain to physical resources like wireless networks and positioning services, opening new long-term use cases. Solana Foundation's recent focus aligns with this broader vision, emphasizing AI Agents (for machine-to-machine transactions), payments, stablecoins, and Real-World Assets (RWA) to build a sustainable growth model beyond cyclical trends. While challenges remain—such as value capture for SOL and maintaining ecosystem sustainability beyond hot trends—institutional interest is growing due to Solana's maturing application business models, expanding payment/stablecoin ecosystem, and persistent developer activity. The competition is no longer about speed alone, but about which network can foster the most vibrant and valuable digital economy.

marsbit07/01 10:42

Grayscale's Latest Research: What is Solana's Next Growth Engine?

marsbit07/01 10:42

They Waited 7 Years for This Money

The article discusses the significant drop in share price of Circle, known as the "first stablecoin stock," triggered by the announcement of a new alliance including Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, Coinbase, BlackRock, Google, IBM, and Ripple. This alliance plans to launch Open USD, a USD stablecoin, later this year. Key to the market reaction is Open USD's plan to distribute reserve-generated profits to its adopters, directly challenging Circle's core revenue model from USDC's reserve interest. The piece draws a parallel to Facebook's 2019 Libra (later Diem) project, which involved many of the same companies. Libra failed due to regulatory pressure, its association with Facebook's controversial reputation, and overly ambitious global currency narratives. However, the underlying desire of these major financial and tech firms to create a new digital payment infrastructure persisted. Over seven years, the landscape changed: clearer US stablecoin regulations (GENIUS Act), mature blockchain infrastructure, and companies gaining practical experience with crypto payments. Open USD presents a more modest, compliance-focused narrative—a settlement tool and enterprise payment rail rather than a revolutionary global currency. While the new alliance poses a serious threat to Circle's profitability and exclusivity, it faces challenges typical of large consortia: slow decision-making and complex profit-sharing. USDC's established liquidity, trust, and integrations provide Circle with significant defenses. The market's reaction is seen partly as an emotional overreaction but also a necessary reevaluation of Circle's business model from a unique "stablecoin era ticket" to a "strong issuer" in a competitive commodity market. Ultimately, the core ambition from the Libra era remains: to digitize the movement of dollar value on the internet and capture the adjacent commercial opportunities. The lesson learned is to pursue this goal not as a high-profile, platform-led revolution, but as a quiet, utility-focused infrastructure play.

marsbit07/01 10:41

They Waited 7 Years for This Money

marsbit07/01 10:41

The Invisible Force of Bitcoin's Bear Market: On-Chain Payments and Institutional Adoption Accelerate

Despite recent Bitcoin price volatility, adoption of on-chain payments and tokenized transactions by major traditional financial institutions is accelerating, driven by discussions around regulatory clarity, such as the CLARITY Act. This trend is enhancing transparency, traceability, and error-correction capabilities—key features expected in modern payment systems. A significant development is the push for standardized blockchain analytics, moving beyond simple transparency to provide interpretable and defensible data for institutions and policymakers. Major banks like JPMorgan Chase support digital asset innovation but emphasize that assets should be regulated based on their economic function (e.g., tokenized securities as securities). Furthermore, the growth of on-chain deposit solutions within regulated banks highlights a shift towards modernizing traditional banking infrastructure—such as deposits, payments, and cross-border settlement—rather than merely creating speculative assets. Overall, the underlying evolution of crypto infrastructure continues to advance, potentially laying a more robust foundation for the industry's future.

marsbit07/01 09:49

The Invisible Force of Bitcoin's Bear Market: On-Chain Payments and Institutional Adoption Accelerate

marsbit07/01 09:49

GoMining Launches GoBTC Pay SDK to Expand Bitcoin Payments

GoMining has launched the GoBTC Pay Gen1 SDK and API, enabling merchants, wallet providers, and ecosystem partners to integrate Bitcoin payments. This release transforms the technology from a demo into an open infrastructure layer for building scalable Bitcoin payment experiences. An initial group of up to 10 partners will begin integration. The solution facilitates quick, non-custodial transactions that settle directly on the Bitcoin network, allowing users to retain custody of their BTC. It includes merchant tools, a dashboard, payment connectors, and public developer documentation. Powered by a private 15EH/s mempool, it aims for debit card-like speed with an average 12-hour settlement window. A 0.2% transaction fee is distributed equally between participating wallet providers and GoMining pool miners, aligning incentives to promote network growth. This launch is part of GoMining's broader strategy to expand real-world Bitcoin commerce for everyday purchases.

TheNewsCrypto07/01 09:14

GoMining Launches GoBTC Pay SDK to Expand Bitcoin Payments

TheNewsCrypto07/01 09:14

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