JPMorgan shared a rather conservative prediction about the stablecoin market

JPMorgan just threw a cold bucket of water on the stablecoin hype . Forget those trillion-dollar dreams you’ve been hearing, JPMorgan’s saying the stablecoin market will barely hit $500 billion by 2028. That’s a big whoa in the crypto market.

Not crypto, not mainstream

Why? Because, according to JPMorgan, stablecoins aren’t exactly flying off the shelves for everyday payments.

Only about 6% of stablecoin usage is for actual payments. The rest? 88% is tied to trading, DeFi, and crypto treasury stuff. So, these digital dollars aren’t replacing your morning coffee cash anytime soon.

The bank’s blunt, and say, stablecoins replacing traditional money for daily use? No way.

They point out stablecoins offer lower yields and converting back and forth to fiat is a pain in the wallet.

So, they’re stuck in this weird limbo, not quite mainstream money, not just crypto toys either.

Central bank digital currency?

Right now, JPMorgan pegs the market at around $250 billion, which is half their 2028 forecast.

But hold on, not everyone’s so pessimistic. Standard Chartered, another big player, thinks stablecoins could explode to over $2 trillion by 2028.

They’re betting on new laws like the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin bill the US Senate passed recently with a solid 68-30 vote, to clear up the regulatory fog and bring in more, way more investors.

But on the other hand, stablecoins are facing stiff competition from governments rolling out their own digital currencies, called CBDCs.

China’s pushing the digital yuan hard, and even Alibaba’s Ant Group is eyeing a stablecoin license in Hong Kong.

The European Central Bank is deep into plans for a digital euro that respects privacy and works both online and offline.

Crossroads?

Russia’s not sitting still either. Their central bank’s gearing up to make digital ruble payments mandatory for big banks by 2027, with full rollout by 2028.

And don’t forget, places like the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Nigeria already launched their CBDCs.

So stablecoins got potential, sure. But with banks like JPMorgan playing it cool and governments pushing their own digital money, stablecoins gotta work hard to prove they’re not just another flash in the pan.