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3 New Ways to Profit From the $300 Billion Stablecoin Boom

May 19, 2026 — 05:20 am EDT

Written by

Dominic Basulto for

The Motley Fool->

Key Points

- Card issuers and payment networks are now experimenting with new payment initiatives involving stablecoins.

- Top banks and financial institutions are looking for ways to leverage stablecoins for efficiencies and cost savings.

- Fintech firms are launching stablecoins of their own, creating plenty of potential rivals for Tether and USDC.

- 10 stocks we like better than Circle Internet Group ›

The overall crypto market may be reeling, but the stablecoin industry continues to grow at a prodigious rate. Stablecoins are now worth $300 billion and could be worth upwards of $3 trillion by the end of 2030, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

So, what's the best way to get exposure to these dollar-pegged digital currencies? The latest Motley Fool research on stablecoins highlights three ways investors can get exposure to the stablecoin boom.

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Image source: Getty Images.

Card issuers and payment networks

As a starting point, it's worth considering two credit card behemoths: Mastercard (NYSE: MA) and Visa (NYSE: V). Both are now putting their full weight behind new blockchain-based payment initiatives, including some that feature stablecoins.

As the new Motley Fool research points out, Visa and Mastercard are not trying to become stablecoin issuers. Instead, they are positioning themselves as the connective layer between stablecoin wallets and the existing payments infrastructure. As stablecoin payments scale, both Visa and Mastercard are attempting to stay one step ahead of the competition.

With that in mind, Mastercard launched a global Crypto Partner Program in March 2026 with more than 85 digital asset and fintech firms, including PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL), Binance (CRYPTO: BNB), Gemini (NASDAQ: GEMI), Kraken, MetaMask, and Ripple. For its part, Visa has begun accepting stablecoin payments through various crypto partners, allowing customers to link their Visa cards to stablecoin wallets.

Banks and financial institutions

The Motley Fool research also highlights that a number of top banks and financial institutions are running stablecoin pilot projects. These include JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), and Citigroup (NYSE: C).

Here's where the lines really begin to blur between traditional finance and blockchain finance. The growing consensus is that stablecoins, running entirely on blockchain payment rails, could make a lot of sense in terms of cost savings and potential efficiencies.

But it's not clear right now what the best strategy is. Should these banks offer their own stablecoins, or should they use popular stablecoins -- such as Tether (CRYPTO: USDT) or USDC (CRYPTO: USDC) -- that already exist? Or should they hedge their bets and partner with a large group of banks to offer a new type of dollar-pegged stablecoin with its own unique properties?

Stablecoin issuers

The final option -- and arguably the riskiest -- is to invest in stablecoin issuers such as Circle Internet Group. As the issuer of the $77 billion USDC stablecoin, Circle is the best pure-play stablecoin investment opportunity. By investing in Circle stock, it's possible to get direct exposure to the high-flying stablecoin trend.

What's interesting here is that a number of top fintech firms are also throwing their hats into the stablecoin ring. These include PayPal, which issued a stablecoin in 2023, as well as Ripple, the company behind the XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) token, which issued a stablecoin in 2024. The market cap of PayPal USD (CRYPTO: PYUSD) is currently $3.5 billion, while the market cap of Ripple USD (CRYPTO: RLUSD) is $1.5 billion.

If you're really willing to take a flier, you could choose to invest in highly speculative cryptocurrencies such as Stable (CRYPTO: STABLE) that offer direct exposure to stablecoins. Stable, with a market cap of $725 million, has emerged as the first Layer 1 blockchain dedicated entirely to stablecoins. The goal is to create a thriving blockchain ecosystem around the $190 billion Tether stablecoin.

Caveats for investors

Just remember -- it's still early innings for stablecoins. While top card issuers, payment networks, and banks are experimenting with stablecoins, these dollar-pegged digital currencies still do not make a meanin