Stablecoins are now one of the fastest growing areas of the crypto world. They grew an incredible 49% last year and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The two stablecoins — Tether (CRYPTO: USDT) i USDC (CRYPTO: USDC) — now have a combined market cap of $250 billion.

But senior executives a visa (NYSE: V) i MasterCard (NYSE: THE LO) you don’t see it that way. In earnings calls this year, they dismissed the utility of stable currencies. As they see it, there is simply no real consumer demand, and their use is limited beyond cross-border payments. So should crypto investors be worried?

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both of them visa and Mastercard have started blockchain payment initiatives, so it’s not like they’re denying the technological changes happening in the financial system. But, they say, in developed markets, there is simply “no suitable product on the market” for stablecoins.

It is true that this argument has some logic. Consumers already have many options for paying for things online and may not see the appeal of paying with stablecoins. Retail customers, if given a choice, would prefer to pay with digital dollars in their bank accounts. Why bother having dollar-backed stablecoins?

That might be the case, but there are many reasons why banks and payment networks should pay more attention. Stablecoins powered by blockchain technology offer 24/7 settlement and payments that are completed in seconds instead of days.

In addition, some stablecoins give attractive returns to consumers. This is what attracts the cryptocurrency crowd: they see stablecoins as a potentially more profitable option for checking and savings accounts. In fact, Chartered Standard predicts that by 2028, nearly $500 billion in bank deposits will move to stablecoins. The highest possible returns in the blockchain and crypto world will be too good to pass up.

When it comes to stablecoins, investors have many options. There are now nine different stablecoins with market caps over $1 billion. In addition to Tether, there is USDC, which is the stablecoin it supports Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL). There is also a stablecoin of PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) and a stablecoin from Ripple, the company behind XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) witness

So I hardly care about the skeptical comments from Visa and Mastercard. There are some big fintech names like Circle Internet Group behind the stablecoins. Additionally, key Trump administration officials have been outspoken in their support for stablecoins.

As a result, stablecoins hardly seem like a passing fad. It’s time for investors to keep an eye on what’s happening within this fast-growing area of ​​the crypto market.

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Dominic Basulto has positions in Circle Internet Group, USDC and XRP. The Motley Fool has positions and recommends Mastercard, PayPal, Visa and XRP. The Motley Fool recommends Standard Chartered Plc and recommends the following options: long January 2027 $42.50 calls on PayPal and short March 2026 $65 calls on PayPal. The Motley Fool has one disclosure policy.

Visa and Mastercard executives have recently dismissed stablecoin utility. Should Crypto Investors Worry? was originally published by The Motley Fool