Non-USD stablecoins have huge potential! Standard Chartered executive: Taiwan has a solid foundation, what are our advantages

Standard Chartered reports optimistic about the potential of non-USD stablecoins. Executives point out that Taiwan, as a key player in the global supply chain, has strong cross-border settlement needs, and the development potential of domestic stablecoins receives high marks. As regulations become clearer step by step, Taiwan is expected to deepen digital settlements and improve capital dispatch efficiency.

Standard Chartered’s latest report: Huge growth potential for non-USD stablecoins

Recently, Standard Chartered released its latest global stablecoin research report, indicating that the total issuance scale of global stablecoins has surpassed 320 billion USD. The total stablecoin transaction volume in the first quarter of 2026 even exceeded 28 trillion USD, setting a quarterly record high.

Standard Chartered points out that stablecoins are rapidly transforming from simple crypto asset trading tools into new settlement tools for enterprise cross-border payments and capital management. However, structural diversification gaps are also emerging:

Currently, USD stablecoins account for over 98% of the total market value, but the USD’s share in traditional global cross-border payment systems is about 50%, and its participation in global foreign exchange trading is approximately 89%. A gap of up to 48 percentage points indicates that the concentration of the stablecoin market is far higher than that of the underlying global trade and payment systems, highlighting the enormous expansion space for “non-USD stablecoins” in the future.

Three key factors driving demand for non-USD stablecoins

The report further analyzes three structural factors driving demand for non-USD stablecoins:

1. Accessibility: In regions where banking systems are less developed or cross-border account access is limited, stablecoins can serve as digital alternatives to address infrastructure limitations or banking hours mismatches.
2. Speed: Traditional banking systems often cannot achieve real-time settlement. Stablecoins, available around the clock, can significantly reduce liquidity frictions and hedging costs across time zones.
3. Stability: When enterprises trade in more volatile currencies, rapid settlement can shorten exposure windows. Non-USD stablecoins, if more stable than neighboring countries’ alternative currencies, have the opportunity to be adopted in regional trade.

The report emphasizes that currency diversification will become a structural trend; appropriately reducing reliance on a single currency can create meaningful market depth in specific currencies.

Taiwan’s domestic stablecoin demand potential score approaches Singapore and Hong Kong

Standard Chartered also combined data from the World Bank’s 2025 Business Environment Maturity Assessment to establish an analytical framework covering indicators such as financial service operational efficiency, international trade efficiency gaps, and regulatory clarity, to evaluate the potential demand for domestic currency stablecoins in various markets.

In the “Ranking of Potential Demand for Domestic Currency Stablecoins” compiled by Standard Chartered, Taiwan’s overall average score is 47.8 points. Scores for various evaluation indicators include other operational efficiency metrics at 74.8, regulatory clarity at 69.4, financial service operational efficiency reverse score at 26.9, and international trade operational efficiency reverse score at 20.0.

Source: Standard Chartered report; Standard Chartered stablecoin report mentions “Ranking of potential demand for domestic currency stablecoins”

Standard Chartered points out that Taiwan’s overall stablecoin development trend is close to that of international financial centers, such as Singapore with a total score of 47.8, and Hong Kong at 47.9. Taiwan has relative advantages in operational conditions and regulatory clarity, reflecting a solid foundation in its financial system and market stability.

Meanwhile, higher overall scores are mostly found in countries and regions with immature or advanced financial infrastructure, such as Ivory Coast in West Africa scoring as high as 68.4, Indonesia in Southeast Asia with 58.4, and El Salvador, which actively adopts Bitcoin, with 52.3.

Standard Chartered is optimistic about Taiwan’s stablecoin development foundation

Regarding Taiwan’s foundation and advantages in stablecoins, Zhu Jialing, head of the Corporate and Investment Banking Division at Standard Chartered Bank, further pointed out to the Economic Daily that Taiwan, as a key player in the global supply chain, plays an important role in regional and cross-border industry networks.

As Taiwanese enterprises’ demand for cross-border capital management and settlement efficiency continues to grow, conditions for the application and deepening of digital settlement solutions are becoming more mature.

Zhu Jialing stated that Taiwanese companies possess highly internationalized operations, with increasingly diverse supply chains and investment layouts. Stablecoins, combining the stability of fiat currencies with the efficiency of blockchain settlement, can facilitate rapid cross-border settlements through on-chain payments.

For enterprises and financial institutions operating across time zones, digital settlement tools will help reduce liquidity barriers. In the future, when handling multi-currency transactions, companies may directly use digital settlement tools to manage funds, thereby enhancing operational capital efficiency.

The Financial Supervisory Commission recently also revealed that some Taiwanese businesses are using stablecoins for payments and collections; the important “Virtual Asset Service Provider Law” draft has been submitted to the Legislative Yuan for review. Zhu Jialing believes that as regulatory and legal frameworks become clearer, Taiwan is expected to gradually connect with the global digital financial system, creating a positive cycle for corporate funds and innovation momentum.

Further reading:
Are there as many as five versions of the Virtual Asset Service Law draft? The Financial Supervisory Commission reports: Stablecoin reserves and interest are key 2026 updates》A summary of the Virtual Asset Service Law draft: stablecoins, licenses, penalties explained