BlackRock New Year Report: Stablecoins Expected to Reshape Financial Markets; Ethereum Settlement Layer's Leading Position Difficult to Shake

Written by: Blockchain Knight

BlackRock, in its “2026 Global Outlook,” points out that stablecoins are breaking through exchange boundaries and integrating into mainstream payment systems, with the potential to widely penetrate cross-border transfers and daily use in emerging markets.

This shift in positioning changes the core market question: stablecoins are not only beneficial for the crypto industry but also whether they can become a settlement channel that coexists or even integrates with traditional finance, leading to the key proposition of “which blockchains will become the core foundational layer.”

BlackRock explicitly states that stablecoins “are no longer niche products” and are becoming “a bridge between traditional finance and digital liquidity.”

The rise of stablecoins stems from volatility in the crypto market and limitations in traditional financial settlement, but their mainstream adoption now benefits from regulatory implementation and scale breakthroughs.

In July 2025, the GENIUS Act took effect, establishing a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins in the United States; by early 2026, the total market cap of stablecoins surpassed $298 billion, with USDT and USDC still dominating.

Substantial breakthroughs have been achieved in mainstream applications. In December 2025, Visa launched USDC settlement services in the US, with partner banks completing settlements via Solana, aiming to provide 24/7 services, accelerate fund flows, and ensure stability during holidays, marking stablecoins’ entry into the core settlement segment of finance.

As stablecoins expand into collateral and fund management fields, the reliability of the underlying layer becomes increasingly critical.

Ethereum, although not the chain with the lowest transfer costs for stablecoins, has become the preferred choice for institutions due to its ecological anchor layer advantages.

It separates execution from settlement, serving as the final arbitration layer to ensure the certainty of high-value transactions. This advantage has propelled Ethereum to become the core custody platform for tokenized assets. By early January 2026, it had custody of $12.5 billion in tokenized real-world assets (RWA), accounting for 65% of the market share.

BlackRock’s own tokenized money market fund BUIDL and JPMorgan’s tokenized money market fund both start with Ethereum, confirming the institutional “entry from a mature ecosystem and then expansion” strategic approach.

In emerging markets, stablecoins may expand the use of USD but could impact local currency controls; issuer risks are not to be overlooked. In November 2025, S&P downgraded Tether’s reserve rating due to insufficient transparency, reminding that system stability depends on the assets backing it.

Circle’s multi-chain deployment enhances liquidity portability, but market premiums will eventually tilt toward layers with trustworthy settlement, asset integration capabilities, and secure governance.

BlackRock’s view is that for stablecoins to truly become a bridge between traditional and digital finance, a solid foundational layer is necessary. Under the current architecture, Ethereum remains the core cornerstone for institutional re-engagement.