Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

At this year’s Money20/20 Europe, the focus was clear and pragmatic. Three themes came through consistently: digital identity, stablecoins, and open banking. Each reflects a broader shift underway. Institutions are moving from exploration to implementation. Regulatory frameworks are taking shape. Infrastructure is evolving to meet new demands. These priorities emerged across our discussions with partners, customers, and colleagues—and signal where the market is heading.

Asia is leading the world in real-world stablecoin adoption. According to our 2025 State of Stablecoins report, 56% of institutions in the region are already live—the highest adoption rate globally. Another 40% are either piloting or planning implementation, making stablecoins a foundational layer of Asia’s evolving payments infrastructure. Across markets like Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, institutions are moving quickly—not just to explore stablecoins, but to scale them.

This year at Stablecon 2025, I had the privilege of delivering the opening keynote on behalf of Fireblocks. We supported the inaugural event as title sponsor because we believe stablecoins are reaching a pivotal moment—and this gathering marked an important step toward shaping the conversations that will define the space. For us, it was also a moment to take stock of how far the ecosystem has come—and the role Fireblocks continues to play at the center of it.

Confidence in Latin America is not just high—it’s active. Only 29% of institutions cited regulatory uncertainty as a barrier (compared to a global average of 41%), and just 7% mentioned lack of internal expertise—the lowest of any region. Over 70% say their infrastructure, including APIs and wallets, is already ready for stablecoin integration, and 86% have partnerships in place to support this shift. This foundation is what enables institutions to move beyond experimentation.

Stablecoins. Did anyone (in crypto) talk about anything else this May?

Financial market infrastructures (FMIs) form the backbone of the global financial system, playing a vital role in ensuring its safety, efficiency, and overall stability. FMIs—including payment systems, securities settlement systems, central securities depositories (CSDs), central counterparties (CCPs), and trade repositories—are now under growing pressure to evolve.

Stablecoins have moved beyond early experimentation, as Fireblocks’ State of Stablecoins 2025 report shows. Based on insights from nearly 300 C-suite executives across banking, fintech, and crypto-native firms, the findings indicate a clear shift from pilot programmes to operational deployment. In Europe, that shift is unfolding with measured intent—driven by regulatory clarity, infrastructure readiness, and a clear focus on competitive positioning.

In today’s financial system, stability isn’t optional—it’s the baseline. With banks embracing digital asset rails, stablecoins moving at scale, and regulation turning into a green light, the demand for enterprise-grade continuity has never been higher. According to our recent State of Stablecoins report: Yet despite this momentum, many institutions still face a major blocker: ensuring continuity and compliance standards that match the rigor of traditional financial systems.

Three years ago, we put together a slide showing how we believed stablecoin payments would evolve within businesses. The premise was simple: Fast forward to today, and we’re watching this play out in real time. The shift to stablecoins isn’t theoretical anymore—it’s happening. In the last twelve months, we have moved from sporadic exploration to massive experimentation, and now, implementation. Let’s double-click on the journey that PSPs are going through.

This week, Fireblocks announced a series of new products and features to make the blockchain experience a whole lot smoother. Whether onboarding users, scaling a DeFi app, or powering global payments, gas fees have long been a barrier to seamless retail applications for digital assets. With Universal Gasless, Fireblocks is removing a significant blockchain complexity.