Stablecoins Beyond Payments: The Onchain Lending Opportunity (in partnership with Visa)

Stablecoins are evolving from a payments tool into the foundation of onchain credit markets. In collaboration with Visa, Allium is excited to share our new whitepaper, “Stablecoins Beyond Payments: The Onchain Lending Opportunity.” The report explores how programmable, transparent, and global lending markets are emerging onchain powered by stablecoins.

‍Read the full whitepaper: Stablecoins Beyond Payments: The Onchain Lending Opportunity (Visa)
Explore the dashboard on onchain lending: Visa x Allium Onchain Analytics

The Rise of Onchain Credit Markets

Stablecoin lending has rapidly expanded, signaling a new era for onchain finance. In August 2025 alone, $51.7B in stablecoin loans were originated, bringing total lending volume since 2020 to $670B.

After a downturn following the FTX and Terra Luna collapses, lending activity began recovering strongly in 2024 — now showing steady institutional growth.

Today, the market serves 81K monthly active borrowers and over 1.1M all-time, with an average loan size of $121K — a clear sign of increasing professional participation.

Market Concentration and Innovation

While USDC and USDT still make up over 98% of stablecoin supply, and Aave and Compound handle 89% of loan volume, new protocols are emerging. Morpho V2, for example, has quickly captured 4% of total market share.

Programmable Credit Infrastructure

Borrower APRs average 6.4%, while lender APYs hover around 5% — creating an efficient, transparent credit market without traditional intermediaries.

Smart contracts now:

• Enforce loan terms automatically
• Monitor collateral in real-time
• Adjust rates algorithmically
• Liquidate positions when needed

This replaces manual credit checks with code — a new model for programmable, auditable, and globally accessible credit infrastructure.

Read the Full Report & View the Dashboard

Dive deeper into the data and explore live metrics by chain, stablecoin, and protocol on the Visa x Allium Onchain Analytics Dashboard.

Read the full whitepaper: Stablecoins Beyond Payments: The Onchain Lending Opportunity (Visa)
Explore the dashboard: Visa x Allium Onchain Analytics

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