Stablecoin transfers reached $891 billion in the third quarter of 2026, according to a new report commissioned by Coinbase. That quarterly figure is more than four times the level of early 2023. On an hourly basis, adjusted transfer volume came to more than $400 million during the quarter.
The report links the growth to wider use by banks and businesses, including US banks. Cointelegraph published the findings on Oct 20, 2026.
The numbers point in two directions. Far more money is moving through stablecoins, yet total stablecoin market capitalization has barely changed over the past year. Put simply, the same pool of coins is changing hands more often instead of growing much larger.
Some things are not yet known from the coverage. It does not name the banks involved, and it does not break the volume down by individual stablecoin or by blockchain. It also does not say how the 'adjusted' volume figure is calculated.
For anyone already holding a perpetual position on Bitget, Bybit, MEXC or OKX, this changes nothing directly. The report says nothing about derivatives exchanges, funding rates, trading fees or order book liquidity. It describes payment and transfer activity, not what it costs to keep a perp open.
Source: cointelegraph — Stablecoin transfers quadruple to $891B as US banks expand adoption: Report