Stablecoins are transforming from niche crypto instruments to critical programmable infrastructure, with profound implications for global finance and business strategy. By enabling instantaneous, low-cost settlement, they bridge disparate domestic payment systems, dismantle inefficiencies in entrenched card networks and legacy rails, and unlock decentralized finance applications. This analysis delineates the core stablecoin archetypes — fully reserved variants, deposit tokens, tokenized money-market funds and algorithmic constructs — assessing their trade-offs in reserve robustness, consumer protection, regulatory compliance and long-term business viability. The paper then charts five geopolitical pathways, ranging from a lightly upgraded Bretton Woods order to fragmented multipolar or more chaotic monetary regimes, unpacking how these trajectories could propel or impede stablecoin adoption.
