Stablecoins have crossed a tipping point. What started as a crypto-trading tool is now being used for payments, treasury operations and cross-border settlement – and the market is growing fast. In 2025, the global stablecoin market reached $308bn, with corporate users already reporting efficiency gains in cross-border payments.
And there’s more momentum ahead. Citi forecasts that stablecoin issuance could reach $4tn by 2030, while respondents to an EY-Parthenon survey estimated stablecoins could account for 5–10% of cross-border payments by the end of the decade.
As stablecoins move into the core of payments, this speed of change is creating a new set of risks for today’s fintechs to prepare for – with insurance already proving a key risk management tool.
From crypto to financial infrastructure
Stablecoins are being used more and in new ways across everyday finance. Settling invoices, liquidity management and supporting cross-border payments are burgeoning use cases that require higher standards of reliability, transparency and trust than speculative assets.
Early discussions on stablecoins focused heavily on price stability. Today, the more material risks sit in the operational, technological and governance layers that underpin how these systems run.
Where stablecoin risks lie
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Resilience and operational risk
Stablecoins depend on a complex chain of infrastructure, including blockchain networks, smart contracts, custody arrangements, reserve management and third‑party service providers. As adoption grows, exposure to failure anywhere along that chain increases.
What makes this environment particularly challenging is speed. Stablecoin systems operate continuously and across borders, with little of the friction or buffering built into traditional payment rails. Outages, software issues, network congestion or cyber incidents can disrupt payments immediately, with limited opportunity to intervene or recover gradually.
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Trust, governance and regulatory risk
As stablecoins start to function like financial infrastructure, trust becomes central. Governance frameworks – that includes how reserves are managed, who acts in a crisis, and how redemptions or system changes are handled – matter as much as the technology itself.
These arrangements vary widely, and weaknesses often only surface under stress. At the same time, regulatory expectations are rising. Across jurisdictions, stablecoins are increasingly treated as payment tools, bringing closer scrutiny around risk management, disclosures and compliance.
Managing risk as stablecoins scale
As stablecoins become more prevalent, fintechs need to prepare for a broader set of risks. Operational resilience, governance, cyber exposure and regulatory scrutiny all pose a significant challenge, and since the space is accelerating so quickly, that challenge is evolving constantly. In this landscape, insurance isn’t just a nice to have. It’s a must.
For brokers, this presents a clear opportunity. Many issuers and firms adopting stablecoins won’t immediately recognize how their risk profile has changed. So now is the time to act and gain an understanding into how these technologies are being used – leaving you well placed to help businesses put appropriate protection in place.
Discover comprehensive cover for today’s fintechs. Get in touch if you have any questions on stablecoin risk and how our cover is built to protect.
