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24 Oct, 2025

Stablecoin QR Payments: Exploring the “Last Mile” of the Crypto World

The convergence of stablecoin payments and QR code systems is quietly transforming the underlying logic of modern payment infrastructure. Only a few years ago, people were still debating whether digital currencies could ever enter daily life. Today, in certain countries, scanning an ordinary merchant QR code may in fact trigger a payment settled in crypto stablecoins behind the scenes. From Southeast Asia to South America, QR-based stablecoin payment systems are taking shape.Vietnam and the Philippines: Financial InclusionIn Vietnam and the Philippines, the promotion of stablecoin QR payments is closely tied to the goal of financial inclusion. Both countries have limited banking coverage, leaving a large proportion of low- and middle-income citizens reliant on e-wallets for everyday payments. According to World Bank data, over 30% of Vietnamese adults and nearly 44% of Filipinos remained unbanked in 2023.In June 2025, Bitget Wallet announced the integration of its crypto payment feature with the national unified QR code systems of both countries—VietQR and QR PH—enabling users to pay directly with stablecoins such as USDT or USDC.This initiative is far from a symbolic “crypto-payment concept”; it represents a genuine embedding of blockchain liquidity within local financial networks. When consumers scan to pay, the system automatically converts stablecoins into local fiat currency in the background. Merchants neither handle crypto assets nor bear exchange rate risks. As Bitget noted in its official blog, the goal is to make “the crypto payment experience indistinguishable from a regular e-wallet transaction.”Vietnam’s payment environment provides fertile ground for such innovation. VietQR, launched by the National Payment Corporation and major banks, standardizes QR code payments nationwide across banks and wallet providers. When stablecoins like USDT enter the VietQR ecosystem, they effectively bridge blockchain liquidity with the national financial network. Users initiate payments through crypto wallets, settle via stablecoins, and merchants still receive VND-denominated funds. For regulators, this structure preserves control over local currency clearing while allowing international liquidity to flow more efficiently into retail payments.Brazil: Inflation Hedging and System IntegrationBrazil’s core motivation lies in hedging inflation and integrating global crypto capital. Since 2024, inflation has remained above the target band, and the Brazilian real (BRL) has increasingly been substituted by digital assets in trading. By allowing users to pay via stablecoins like USDT or USDC through QR codes, the government is, in effect, incorporating market-adopted crypto assets into its regulatory perimeter—turning them into supervised payment instruments.Brazil’s PIX system, known for instant transfers, has already replaced much of the country’s cash transactions. In September 2025, Aeon Pay announced that its “Crypto Scan-to-Pay” service now supports stablecoin payments via PIX QR codes. Users can scan and pay directly with USDT or USDC, with automatic real-time conversion into BRL in the background.Because PIX covers virtually all banks and merchant terminals, stablecoins can now achieve QR-based, on-the-spot settlement across the broadest segments of the economy. Aeon Pay emphasizes that its system complies with central bank AML and fund-traceability requirements, ensuring all conversion and clearing flows are fully auditable.Thailand: Tourism Economy and FX OptimizationMeanwhile, Thailand—buoyed by its vibrant tourism sector—is exploring similar mechanisms. According to policy analysis from Silk Legal, Thailand’s Tourist DigiPay program enables visitors to pay merchants by converting crypto into Thai baht through QR code transactions.The logic is straightforward: Thailand’s foreign-exchange settlement system still involves friction for small-value transactions. Tourists often face high fees and opaque exchange rates when converting cash or using foreign cards. Stablecoin QR payments bypass traditional FX intermediaries, using smart contracts to execute instant conversions and credit merchants directly in local currency.The key innovation is not the legalization of crypto trading itself, but the integration of stablecoins into Thailand’s unified QR code network. Tourists can top up certified wallets with USDT upon arrival; the system then auto-converts the amount into THB equivalents and clears through local banks and payment gateways. This model maintains full regulatory compliance while reducing foreign-exchange friction—bringing stablecoins into practical, real-world use within the tourism economy.Singapore: Compliance Meets InnovationWhile many of these examples emerge from emerging markets, Singapore in September 2025 became the first highly developed financial hub to enable stablecoin QR payments within a regulated ecosystem.According to Finextra and Channel News Asia, OKX Pay partnered with StraitsX to launch QR payment functionality supporting USDC and USDT. Users can scan the SGQR, Singapore’s national unified QR code, across GrabPay’s merchant network to make purchases.Behind the scenes, the system converts USDC or USDT into XSGD, a stablecoin fully pegged to the Singapore dollar (SGD), and merchants receive payment in fiat SGD.This model marks the first implementation of retail stablecoin payments in a strictly regulated jurisdiction. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) had already introduced a Stablecoin Regulatory Framework in 2023, requiring issuers to maintain high-quality, liquid reserves and undergo independent audits. These safeguards provide both legal and technical assurance, enabling stablecoin QR payments to function reliably at scale.Convergence of QR Codes and Stablecoins: The New InterfaceAlthough national pathways differ, the underlying logic remains strikingly similar: unified QR systems serve as the access layer, stablecoins provide the liquidity layer, and the clearing infrastructure handles conversion into fiat before settlement with merchants. For users, paying with a stablecoin QR feels no different from scanning with Alipay or PayNow. Regulators retain oversight visibility while embracing new inflows of capital and innovation from the crypto market.Behind this trend lies a global institutionalization of the stablecoin ecosystem. Governments are no longer avoiding the issue—they are seeking “steady-state” integration models. Judging from current developments, QR-based stablecoin payments are fast becoming the intersection between crypto assets and the real economy—preserving the convenience of QR payments while extending stablecoin liquidity from virtual markets into everyday commerce.

22 Oct, 2025

Tether Hits 500 Million Users as Stablecoin Supply Nears $182 Billion

Tether, the world's largest issuer of USD-pegged stablecoins, said its user base has hit 500 million for the first time."USDT reached officially 500 million users," CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a post to X. "Likely the biggest financial inclusion achievement in history."Total supply for Tether's USDT stablecoin is at nearly $182 billion. The second-largest issuer is Circle with about $75 billion of USDC in circulation."Programmable money is the ultimate social network," Ardoino said Tuesday. "A peer-to-peer construct that transports both information and value."Last month, Bloomberg reported that El Salvador-based Tether is in talks with investors to raise as much as $20 billion at around a $500 billion valuation, which would make the stablecoin issuer one of the most valuable private companies in the world, alongside high-profile tech companies like OpenAI and SpaceX.Cantor Fitzgerald, said to be a Tether shareholder, is advising the potential deal, the report said.By the end of the year, Tether aims to launch USAT, a dollar-backed stablecoin designed for U.S. users. A new regulatory framework in the U.S. has served to motivate both crypto firms and traditional financial institutions to take more interest in stablecoins for the U.S. market.