Stablecoin Payments Reach $10.2 Trillion, ETH and SOL Gas Fees Persist

In the past 12 months, stablecoin payments have surged to $10.2 trillion, yet network fees for Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) are still settled in native tokens. While the payment experience may increasingly hide ETH or SOL from user screens, the entities responsible for paying the fees remain unchanged. According to CryptoSlate, stablecoin apps can obscure native tokens, but they cannot eliminate gas costs altogether. An analysis by Visa and Allium Labs indicates that global stablecoin transaction volume has reached $10.2 trillion, with total transaction volume hitting $51 trillion. Payment apps aim to provide a user experience similar to card payments, which may lead to ETH and SOL balances disappearing from user screens. However, the way networks handle block space and validation costs remains unchanged. Ethereum's ERC-4337 structure allows users to pay fees with ERC-20 tokens, while Solana also requires SOL for all transactions. Gas abstraction does not eliminate fees but rather reallocates them invisibly. Developer discussions are focused on reducing user holding burdens, which relates to changes in the market structure of blockchain payments. As stablecoin payments increase, the roles of ETH and SOL will shift outside of user wallets.

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