Five stablecoin initiatives poised to grow crypto adoption

Increasing institutional interest and moves toward legal frameworks for stablecoins have seen the space grow, with five major projects slated to expand the market

Institutions are getting more interested in crypto, and moves toward legal frameworks for stablecoins have seen the space grow. The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory package is in full force and has given stablecoin issuers clear guidelines by which they can enter European markets. In the US, the STABLE Act and the GENIUS Act, which would provide rules for stablecoins, are making their way through Congress.

As a result, major payments firms like Mastercard and Visa are stepping up support for stablecoin systems, and new coins have appeared, boosting the overall market capitalization of the stablecoin market.

Here are five major stablecoin initiatives projected to grow crypto adoption.

Tether to relaunch in the US

Stablecoin giant Tether is eyeing a relaunch in the US with a dollar-based stablecoin.

Tether’s USDt (USDT) is already known worldwide as the largest stablecoin on the market, providing liquidity to crypto trading pairs on numerous exchanges.

However, Tether has found itself in hot water with regulators over proof of its reserves, other financial transparency and Anti-Money Laundering concerns.

In an April 30 interview with CNBC, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced that the firm wants to launch a rebranded coin in the US, separate from its ubiquitous international stablecoin. “A domestic stablecoin would be different from the international stablecoin,” he said.

The move would give Tether access to US financial markets as the latter’s exposure to crypto widens under the pro-crypto administration of US President Donald Trump.

Trump dabbles in the dollar with USD1

At the beginning of March, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the cryptocurrency project tied to the Trump family, launched its dollar-backed stablecoin, USD1, on the BNB Chain and Ethereum.According to CoinMarketCap, the coin has over $2 billion in market capitalization at publishing time. The stablecoins follow other high-profile crypto projects that use the president’s personal brand as a marketing tool, namely the TRUMP and WLFI memecoins that launched ahead of Trump’s inauguration.

Related: Are Donald Trump’s tariffs a legal house of input:output:rôle

The president’s ability to influence stablecoin policy has led a group of US senators to call for an inquiry into his personal interests in the project, calling it a clear conflict of interest.

Custodia and Vantage Bank launch bank-issued coin on Ethereum

Two US banks, the crypto-friendly Custodia Bank and the Texas-based Vantage Bank, have entered a partnership to issue the supposed first bank-issued stablecoin in the US, UK and Europe.

On March 25, Custodia stated that it tokenized US dollar demand deposits on the Ethereum blockchain as an ERC-20 standard token called Avit.

Custodia CEO and crypto advocate Caitlin Long said that Avit is a “real dollar” in that it tokenizes funds that customers can withdraw on demand, like checking account deposits.

“We applied for a National Cryptocurrency Charter with the OCC [Office of the Comptroller of the Currency] in early 2024, and we received approval in May 2024,” she added.

After the approval, Custodia began exploring options for tokenizing US dollar deposits, finally deciding on Ethereum due to its smart contract capabilities and large user base.

In June 2024, Vantage Bank joined the partnership to serve as the issuing bank for Avit, while Avaria Technologies, a blockchain technology firm, provided technical assistance for tokenization.

Avit will be available for use in the US, UK and Europe in the coming months.

Stripe is testing a stablecoin product

On April 28, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison announced that his global payments platform was working on a US-dollar-based stablecoin product for use outside the US.

The move comes after it received approval to acquire stablecoin payments network Bridge in a $1-billion deal in October 2024, a deal which it completed in February 2025.

Bridge was founded by two former Coinbase executives, Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, in 2022 and competes with firms using the ubiquitous SWIFT global payments system.

The stablecoin initiative is the latest development in the firm’s expanding crypto plans. After a false start on Bitcoin support in 2014, the firm began rebuilding its crypto team in earnest in 2021. On Oct. 9, 2024, the firm opened USDC support for users in 70 countries.

UAE’s largest bank to issue stablecoin

Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company, Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) partnered to launch a dirham-backed stablecoin on April 2