4 min read
Jun 19, 2025
Are Stablecoins Really Cheaper?
TL;DR
Stablecoins aren’t always cheaper today, but they unlock a radically better financial infrastructure; one that moves value instantly, globally, and without traditional bottlenecks.
The real innovation isn’t in cutting costs, but in enabling programmable, always-on money that’s more accessible, flexible, and powerful than legacy rails.
As compliance and risk controls become native to this new system, stablecoins will reshape not just how we pay, but what we can build — and who gets to participate.
There’s a growing narrative that stablecoins offer a cheaper way to move money. But that idea oversimplifies what’s really happening.
While stablecoins can be cheaper for certain use cases (notably cross-border and high-volume transactions), they are not yet meaningfully cheaper for all mainstream use cases. But what they do offer is better infrastructure. In many cases, the costs haven’t disappeared. They've just shifted or haven’t been priced in yet.
Compliance, fraud prevention, sanctions checks, and settlement risk still exist. In traditional payments, those costs are built into fees and processes. With stablecoins, they’re often handled by the wallet, the exchange, or no one at all.
Yet the real innovation isn't about cost savings. It's in what becomes possible:
Value can move instantly, at any time, across borders
Payments are settled on a shared ledger, removing the need for reconciliation between institutions
Developers can build rules directly into transactions: who can receive them, how they're used, when they’re released
Consumers and businesses in underserved markets can hold stable value in dollars without needing a bank account
These are not marginal improvements. They represent a structural shift.
So no, stablecoins are not inherently cheaper today – at least, not for every use case. But they are different in transformative ways.
They rewire the financial stack from the ground up with fewer intermediaries, more automation, and more direct control over how money moves.
And as more of the compliance and risk checks that create cost today get built into that new layer, stablecoins will start to compete not just on features, but on price too.
The better question isn’t whether they save money, it’s how they change what we can build.
That’s where the real opportunity lies. And that’s the future we’re building at Ivy.
Additional Resources
