Visa Exposes 90% Non-Human Activity in Stablecoin Transactions

Visa and Allium, an enterprise blockchain data provider, have released a data dashboard to address "inorganic activity" in stablecoin transactions. Their analysis reveals that approximately 90% of tracked stablecoin transactions are not initiated by humans, potentially impacting the perception of stablecoin activity and comparisons to traditional payment processor transactions. This finding highlights the need for further transparency and analysis to accurately assess the true nature of stablecoin usage.

Visa Unveils Data Dashboard Exposing Significant Volume of Non-Human Stablecoin Transactions

Visa, the global payments technology giant, has partnered with Allium, an enterprise blockchain data provider, to launch a specialized data dashboard. This collaboration aims to combat the prevalence of "inorganic activity" and artificial inflationary practices within stablecoin transactions.

The dashboard monitors the transactional activity of major stablecoins, including Tether (USDT), USDC, USDP, and PayPal's PYUSD. These stablecoins are all pegged to the U.S. dollar on a 1:1 basis and maintain reserves in cash or cash-equivalent assets to support their tokens' value.

Alarmingly, Visa and Allium's analysis reveals that approximately 90% of tracked stablecoin transactions occur without any human involvement. This inorganic activity skews the perception of stablecoin usage and its potential impact on the financial system.

For instance, the unadjusted data for May 5, 2024, indicates a staggering $51.6 billion worth of stablecoin transactions processed. However, when the data is adjusted to exclude inorganic activity, the number plummets to a mere $4.6 billion, highlighting the substantial overstatement of actual transaction volume.

Cuy Sheffield, Visa's Head of Crypto, emphasized the importance of differentiating between transactions initiated by smart contracts and those initiated by humans in response to a Coin Metrics chart suggesting that stablecoins are rapidly catching up to established settlement networks.

Sheffield clarified that automated bot programs often execute activities such as stablecoin arbitrage, liquidity provision, and market making. These automated processes generate a high volume of on-chain transactions, but they differ significantly from traditional settlement processes involving human interaction.

Notably, Visa's analysis also highlights the significant growth in adoption of USDC, a regulated stablecoin issued by Circle. In September 2023, USDC accounted for 23% of the analyzed stablecoin transactions. By year's end, its usage had more than doubled, capturing over 50% of the market share.

Visa's data dashboard provides a valuable tool for market participants, regulators, and policymakers to understand the true dynamics of stablecoin transactions and address any potential concerns regarding artificial market manipulation or financial stability risks.