Central banks believed in late 2022 that stablecoins were rarely used for payments outside of trading or DeFi, be it by consumers or by companies. This is according to a survey held at the end of that year, which asked central banks on what developments they noticed within their jurisdictions regarding CBDC or cryptocurrency. A new question in 2022 covered the use of stablecoins and cryptocurrency in day-to-day payments, excluding potential investments or use within Decentralized Finance (DeFi) such as NFTs. All central banks, regardless of geography, estimated that stablecoins are not used at all for payments. Only seven and eight percent of central banks indicated a use by so-called “niche groups” for domestic and cross-border wholesale payments. The respondents believed remittances were the most popular use case for stablecoins within cross-border payments, although they still thought only “niche groups” used this.
Use of stablecoins as a payments method outside the crypto ecosystem according to central banks worldwide in 2022
Central banks; All figures concern retail payments, and exclude use in DeFi (Decentralized Finance); See the “Details” tab for more information about the source's categorization
Method of interview
Questionnaire
Supplementary notes
This question was phrased by the source as follows: “Currently, in your jurisdiction, apart from (potentially) being used in decentralized finance (DeFi) and crypto trading, how significant do you think the use of stablecoins and other cryptoassets is for the following purposes?”.
The source did not provide data for specific regions or countries in the world, even though it did ask central banks on crypto behavior within their jurisdictions. The source adds the data should be interpreted as perception “on a best-efforts basis”. However, “central banks’ perceptions did not vary significantly when jurisdictional studies on the use of stablecoins and crypto were available.”
No historical data is available, as this question was not asked before in previous surveys.
Respondents had to choose between the following five options:
Significant use: used by different groups of consumers/businesses and for a significant share of their total payments made for this purpose;
Wider public use: used by different groups of consumers/businesses but still for a small share of their total payments made for this purpose;
Used by niche groups: mainly used by a particular group of consumers/businesses and for a small share of their total payments made for this purpose;
Trivial/no use: hardly used by anyone, and those who do, only use it for a tiny fraction of their total payments made for this purpose;
Do not know.
The payments categories respondents could choose from – for both “stablecoins” and “other cryptoassets” included:
Domestic wholesale payments;
Domestic payments for goods and services by consumers;
Domestic payments for goods and services by businesses;
Domestic payments for gifts and donations by consumers;
Domestic payments for gifts and donations by businesses;
Other domestic payments. Please explain: [Enter text here];
Cross-border wholesale payments;
Cross-border payments for goods and services by consumers;
Cross-border payments for goods and services by businesses;
Remittances;
Cross-border payments for gifts and donations by consumers (excl remittances);
Cross-border payments for gifts and donations by businesses;
Other cross-border payments. Please explain: [Enter text here].
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Statista. (November 6, 2023). Use of stablecoins as a payments method outside the crypto ecosystem according to central banks worldwide in 2022 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 18, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1422064/stablecoin-payments-use-cases-and-penetration/
Statista. "Use of stablecoins as a payments method outside the crypto ecosystem according to central banks worldwide in 2022." Chart. November 6, 2023. Statista. Accessed December 18, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1422064/stablecoin-payments-use-cases-and-penetration/
Statista. (2023). Use of stablecoins as a payments method outside the crypto ecosystem according to central banks worldwide in 2022. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 18, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1422064/stablecoin-payments-use-cases-and-penetration/
Statista. "Use of Stablecoins as a Payments Method outside The Crypto Ecosystem According to Central Banks Worldwide in 2022." Statista, Statista Inc., 6 Nov 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1422064/stablecoin-payments-use-cases-and-penetration/
Statista, Use of stablecoins as a payments method outside the crypto ecosystem according to central banks worldwide in 2022 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1422064/stablecoin-payments-use-cases-and-penetration/ (last visited December 18, 2024)
Use of stablecoins as a payments method outside the crypto ecosystem according to central banks worldwide in 2022 [Graph], Statista, November 6, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1422064/stablecoin-payments-use-cases-and-penetration/
