This article is based on ideas originally published by VoxEU – Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and has been independently rewritten and extended by The Economy editorial team. While inspired by the original analysis, the content presented here reflects a broader interpretation and additional commentary. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of VoxEU or CEPR.

This article was independently developed by The Economy editorial team and draws on original analysis published by East Asia Forum. The content has been substantially rewritten, expanded, and reframed for broader context and relevance. All views expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the official position of East Asia Forum or its contributors.

More value now courses through stablecoins and other crypto rails than most policy conversations acknowledge: the IMF’s 2025 analysis maps roughly $2 trillion in cross-border stablecoin flows in 2024, concentrated in North America and the Asia-Pacific, and significant relative to GDP in emerging regions. Meanwhile, FATF reports that a third of surveyed jurisdictions still lacked full Travel Rule legislation as of mid-2024, and even among adopters, supervision and enforcement lag.

This article was independently developed by The Economy editorial team and draws on original analysis published by East Asia Forum. The content has been substantially rewritten, expanded, and reframed for broader context and relevance. All views expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the official position of East Asia Forum or its contributors.

This article was independently developed by The Economy editorial team and draws on original analysis published by East Asia Forum. The content has been substantially rewritten, expanded, and reframed to provide a broader context and greater relevance. All views expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the official position of East Asia Forum or its contributors.

In Buenos Aires last year, merchants who once taped peso price lists to their windows replaced them with QR codes linked to tether wallets. By December, Argentines had moved the equivalent of US$91.1 billion through crypto rails, and 61.8% of that flow rode on dollar‑pegged stablecoins—an amount larger than the country’s merchandise trade surplus and more than double the central bank’s usable foreign‑currency reserves.