His comments follow a report from wealth platform Nexo, which revealed a 72% year-over-year increase in crypto-backed borrowing via the Nexo Card, highlighting a broader trend of users seeking liquidity without selling their crypto holdings. | Credit: Anna Moneymaker / Staff
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Key Takeaways
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse forecasts massive growth in the stablecoin sector, projecting it could reach between $1 trillion and $2 trillion within a few years.
Reports signal growing demand for stable, asset-backed financial tools.
While Ripple sees rapid adoption, JPMorgan has remained skeptical, cutting its stablecoin forecast to $50 billion by 2028.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has claimed that the stablecoin market could grow to $2 trillion within a few years.
In an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Wednesday, July 9, Garlinghouse stated that the stablecoin industry is currently worth around $250 billion, with many believing it will reach “$1T and $2T in a handful of years.”
He described the growth as “profound,” noting that Ripple entered the stablecoin space later than others because the company was already using stablecoins in its “payment flows for our institutional customers.”
Garlinghouse’s remarks come as Ripple, the creators of the XRP token, work to become fully compliant in the U.S.
“For those that have said that the crypto world wants to be unregulated, the opposite is true,” he said.
“We think that the key thing for crypto and decentralized finance… is building bridges between traditional finance and DeFi,” he added.
Last month, Ripple applied for a banking license with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
“The world isn’t going to be taken over by crypto,” he told CNBC. “Instead, we think about ‘do we take the best of what crypto brings in facilitating faster, cheaper transactions and bring it to traditional finance?’”
Crypto Card Borrowing Grows
Garlinghouse’s prediction of dramatic growth in the stablecoin market aligns with evolving strategies in how crypto users manage their assets, especially in relation to long-term holdings.
According to findings shared with CCN from Nexo, crypto-backed borrowing through its Nexo Card increased 72% year-over-year.
The report revealed that over 100,000 BTC and 750,000 ETH were preserved from sale, as users chose to use their digital assets as collateral rather than converting them into fiat currency.
The service, which allows users to draw credit against their crypto holdings, saw total transaction volume reportedly rise by 203.3%, indicating growing demand for stable financial tools within the crypto ecosystem.
JPMorgan Not Convinced
Not everyone shares Garlinghouse’s optimism.
JPMorgan Chase recently downgraded its forecast for stablecoins, predicting the market will reach only $50 billion by 2028.
This is a significant reduction from its previous estimate of $100 billion, which the bank now views as overly optimistic.
“So far, stablecoin usage remains heavily concentrated within the crypto ecosystem, rather than as a tool for everyday payments,” wrote JPMorgan analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou.
However, stablecoins are rapidly entering the mainstream as leading banks and payment processors continue to launch their own.
In emerging markets, stablecoins are also becoming increasingly critical for use purposes beyond basic crypto trading.
According to a survey via YouGov of 2,500 users across India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey, and Brazil, a large number of individuals said they use stablecoins to gain access to dollars.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
