Why have stablecoins processed trillions in transactions yet remain barely used for everyday payments? Why have stablecoins processed trillions in transactions yet remain barely used for everyday payments? Why have stablecoins processed trillions in transactions yet remain barely used for everyday payments? Despite over $7 trillion worth of stablecoin transactions in the past year, these digital dollars and euros are rarely used to buy groceries or pay bills. One enterprise-focused blockchain company, Concordium, believes a lack of security and compliance is holding stablecoins back and it’s proposing a solution. This week, Concordium announced that three stablecoin issuers, StablR, Colb, and VNX, will launch their fiat-pegged coins natively on its network, part of a broader push to bridge crypto and real-world finance. Concordium Concordium Three New Stablecoins Join Concordium’s PayFi Ecosystem Concordium, a Layer-1 blockchain known for its built-in identity verification layer, revealed that StablR, Colb, and VNX will issue stablecoins directly on its chain as protocol-level tokens, not traditional smart-contract tokens. This design means the stablecoins live natively in user wallets without needing custom contract code, a setup the company says reduces counterparty and code risks that have plagued other chains like Ethereum or Solana. Concordium identity verification layer, StablR, Colb, and VNX protocol-level tokens reduces counterparty and code risks Boris Bohrer-Bilowitzki, CEO of Concordium, explains, Boris Bohrer-Bilowitzki, CEO of Concordium, explains, “We’re thrilled to partner with StablR, Colb, and VNX to bring their stablecoins to our PayFi ecosystem. The arrival of three new issuers showcases how Concordium is becoming the home for compliance-ready Stablecoins looking to be adopted for real world use cases.” “We’re thrilled to partner with StablR, Colb, and VNX to bring their stablecoins to our PayFi ecosystem. The arrival of three new issuers showcases how Concordium is becoming the home for compliance-ready Stablecoins looking to be adopted for real world use cases.” “We’re thrilled to partner with StablR, Colb, and VNX to bring their stablecoins to our PayFi ecosystem. The arrival of three new issuers showcases how Concordium is becoming the home for compliance-ready Stablecoins looking to be adopted for real world use cases.” The new stablecoins are pegged to major fiat currencies, including the British pound (GBP), U.S. dollar (USD), and UAE dirham (AED), extending Concordium’s reach across regions. These assets will leverage Concordium’s identity layer and zero-knowledge proof privacy features, which provide built-in compliance controls and lower security risks for institutional users. Concordium’s infrastructure is designed to enable stablecoin issuers to meet regulatory requirements (such as know-your-customer checks or geographic restrictions) without compromising user privacy or security. zero-knowledge proof Who are the new stablecoin partners? StablR is a European stablecoin issuer backed by prominent crypto firms Tether and Kraken, that offers both euro (EURR) and U.S. dollar (USDR) stablecoins and holds an Electronic Money Institution license to comply with EU regulations. In just six months since launch, StablR’s coins have gained traction: they’re listed on over 50 exchanges (including Kraken, Bitfinex, Bybit, and HTX) with more than 150 trading pairs, facilitating around €3 billion in transaction volume in the first half of 2025. Who are the new stablecoin partners? StablR The other two issuers target different markets. Colb is a USD-backed stablecoin whose reserves are secured in Swiss banks; beyond just a digital dollar, Colb plans to give investors access to tokenized structured products (TKSPs) – essentially blockchain tokens mirroring the performance of traditional financial assets. Meanwhile, Liechtenstein-based VNX is introducing a British pound (GBP) stablecoin backed 1:1 by sterling reserves held in banks across Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Together, these new coins broaden the currency mix on Concordium’s network, signalling an ambition to support global payment use cases rather than just U.S. dollar-denominated crypto trading. Colb tokenized structured products (TKSPs) VNX British pound (GBP) stablecoin global payment use cases The Push for Real-World Stablecoin Payments Concordium’s expansion comes at a time of surging stablecoin activity and a realization that most of it remains within the crypto markets. Over the last 12 months, stablecoins handled an eye-popping $7.1 trillion in on-chain transaction value, rivalling the scale of major payment networks. Yet by Concordium’s estimate (citing Visa data), only around 1% of that volume represents retail payments or “everyday commerce” usage. In other words, nearly all stablecoin traffic today is for trading, arbitrage, or crypto-specific transfers, not buying goods and services in the real economy. Visa’s own research has noted that even in the U.S., stablecoin transactions account for under 4% of non-cash payments so far, underscoring the gap between crypto transaction volumes and actual payment adoption. 1% This gap has spurred a wave of projects aiming to make stablecoins useful for payments. Concordium’s announcement name-drops several fellow issuers, including startups like Spiko, Agant, Aryze, EuroDollars, Noon, Deep Blue, and AEDX – all experimenting with stablecoins for mainstream use cases. The common thread is a push to move beyond using stablecoins just for trading liquidity and start using them to settle real bills, remittances, e-commerce purchases, and more. Concordium is positioning its chain as an ideal home for these efforts by providing off-the-shelf compliance features and a safer token model. The idea is that regulated entities (like fintech firms, banks, or payment companies) would be more willing to use and accept stablecoins if the underlying blockchain offers identity-verified transactions, governance controls, and reduced risk of hacks or fraud. stablecoins useful for payments settle real bills, remittances, e-commerce purchases, and more identity-verified transactions, governance controls, and reduced risk of hacks or fraud From a regulatory standpoint, this approach aligns with increasing scrutiny on stablecoins. Major economies are drafting rules to ensure stablecoins are fully backed and traceable, fearing issues around money laundering or consumer risk. By baking identity and compliance into the base layer, Concordium offers an answer to the question regulators often pose: “How do we know who is transacting, and can we enforce the rules?” “How do we know who is transacting, and can we enforce the rules?” “How do we know who is transacting, and can we enforce the rules?” “How do we know who is transacting, and can we enforce the rules?” On Concordium, every wallet can be tied (via an ID layer using zero-knowledge proofs) to a real-world identity that has been verified, though identities remain private unless revealed under approved circumstances. This way, a transaction can be compliant (e.g. not involving sanctioned parties or restricted regions) without exposing personal data on the public ledger. That combination of privacy and accountability is aimed at enabling real-world financial applications that both users and regulators can be comfortable with. privacy and accountability Where Traditional Smart Contracts Fell Short Concordium’s strategy also addresses a technical critique of how stablecoins (and many crypto tokens) operate today. Most popular stablecoins, such as those on Ethereum, are built using smart contracts – self-executing code that defines the token’s behavior. This model, pioneered by platforms like Ethereum a decade ago, allowed anyone to create programmable digital assets and spurred a boom in decentralized finance. But it also came with downsides that have become increasingly apparent. The very flexibility that made smart contracts powerful also made them dangerous. smart contracts The very flexibility that made smart contracts powerful also made them dangerous Bugs or vulnerabilities in widely used contract code have led to billions of dollars in losses from exploits and hacks. A notorious example was The DAO hack in 2016, where an attacker exploited a flaw in an Ethereum smart contract to drain about $60 million worth of Ether, forcing a controversial chain fork to recover the funds. More recently, numerous DeFi protocols and cross-chain bridges have suffered similar fates, as hackers find loopholes in complex contract logic. billions of dollars in losses The DAO hack in 2016 $60 million worth of Ether Smart contracts can also be inefficient for high-volume use. Every token transfer or operation invokes custom code, consuming more computational resources and gas fees than a simple native token transfer would. For users, this has meant higher costs and slower throughput when using stablecoins on congested networks. And then there’s the issue of compliance and control: standard smart contract tokens don’t inherently know anything about who’s using them or where they’re being sent. Features like KYC (know-your-customer checks), geofencing certain jurisdictions, or age restrictions have to be built on top, if at all, and are not natively enforced by the blockchain. In regulated markets, where a payment provider might need to ensure a transaction involves an identified, authorized party, this lack of built-in identity makes life complicated. It often requires third-party identity oracles or off-chain checks, undermining the efficiency and “trustless” nature that smart contracts were supposed to offer. inefficient for high-volume use compliance and control need The result is a feeling that smart contracts alone haven’t delivered the fully secure, scalable, and trustworthy financial infrastructure that early visionaries hoped for. The concept was sound, as envisioned by cryptographer Nick Szabo in the 1990s, smart contracts were meant to be tamper-proof agreements executed with the speed and certainty of software but in practice the implementation has strayed from those foundational principles of safety, efficiency, and trust. If stablecoins and other crypto tokens are to power everyday finance, many believe the technology needs a tune-up to address these shortcomings. smart contracts alone haven’t delivered safety, efficiency, and trust Concordium’s Answer To Status Quo: Protocol-Level Tokens (PLTs) Concordium’s solution comes in the form of what it calls Protocol-Level Tokens (PLTs) – essentially, tokens like stablecoins that are issued and managed by the blockchain’s core protocol code rather than through user-deployed smart contracts. By moving token logic into the base layer of the blockchain, Concordium aims to eliminate many of the risks and inefficiencies outlined above. The three new stablecoins joining Concordium will be among the first to take this approach. Instead of each issuer writing their own smart contract (with the possibility of bugs or malicious code), they will use Concordium’s standardized token framework built into the network itself. Protocol-Level Tokens (PLTs) core protocol code How is this different in practice? For one, efficiency should improve: with no custom contract execution on each transfer, transactions become as lightweight as native coin transfers on the chain, minimizing gas fees and complexity. Concordium also touts security gains – a smaller attack surface due to the standardized, vetted token code that’s the same for all, rather than numerous bespoke contracts. Because these protocol-level tokens are “first-class citizens” of the blockchain, they carry unique identifiers at the protocol level, preventing the common spoofing problems (where scammers create fake tokens with similar names on other chains). How is this different in practice? efficiency security Another key feature is compliance integration. Concordium’s identity layer can be directly tied into token operations. This means an issuer can enforce allow-lists or block certain addresses from holding or transferring the stablecoin if required, all baked into the token’s logic. For example, a stablecoin issuer could automatically prevent tokens from being sent to sanction-listed accounts, or implement region-based restrictions (so a stablecoin version of a digital GBP could be programmed not to leave certain jurisdictions if regulators mandate). Such controls are optional tools, but the point is that the chain supports them out-of-the-box, which could be crucial for banks or businesses that need to follow strict rules. Concordium’s unique ID capabilities make this possible at scale, in a way that typical ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum cannot easily match. compliance integration Concordium’s unique ID capabilities make this possible at scale, in a way that typical ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum cannot easily match There are also user-experience benefits. With protocol tokens, users don’t have to manually add contract addresses to their wallets to recognize a new coin, the wallet software can automatically detect any official token issued on Concordium. This reduces friction, especially for less tech-savvy users or in customer-facing payment apps. Concordium has implemented on-chain governance for token creation, meaning that launching a new PLT (such as a new stablecoin) requires a governance committee transaction for approval. Once approved, an authorized issuer account controls the token’s supply (minting and burning), but the initial creation step ensures that totally rogue or unvetted tokens can’t just appear. This governance layer might reassure participants that every stablecoin on Concordium has passed some level of due diligence by the network community, adding a layer of trust. don’t have to manually add contract addresses to their wallets on-chain governance Importantly, Concordium is rolling out these capabilities hand-in-hand with industry partners. The current cohort of stablecoin issuers working with Concordium including StablR, Colb, VNX and others have been involved in testing this infrastructure on Concordium’s Devnet. By collaborating early, Concordium hopes to tailor the platform to real business needs. And stablecoins are just the beginning: the company hints at a broader “PayFi” (payments finance) toolkit in development, envisioning things like one-click digital payments that combine identity verification with instantaneous stablecoin settlement. The ultimate vision, according to Concordium, is a seamless experience where a user could verify their identity privately and send a payment anywhere in the world in a compliant manner – all in one quick action, as easily as using a mobile payment app. Devnet “PayFi” (payments finance) toolkit A Compliance-First Crypto Bet That Faces Big Tests Concordium’s compliance-centric approach to blockchain represents a notable shift from the “move fast and break things” ethos that characterized early crypto. By prioritizing built-in identity, security and governance, they are trying to bring blockchain back to the original promise of trust while avoiding past pitfalls. In my view, this strategy addresses some of the key reasons traditional institutions have been wary of crypto: namely, the unpredictable risks of smart contracts and the unclear regulatory compliance of public blockchains. If Concordium and its partners can demonstrate that stablecoins on a network like this are both safe and regulator-friendly, it could encourage banks and payment companies to finally embrace crypto tokens for everyday uses. The presence of issuers like StablR (already complying with EU e-money regulations) and others suggests there is demand for such “trustworthy” stablecoin infrastructure. bring blockchain back to the original promise of trust reasons traditional institutions have been wary of crypto However, the real challenge will be adoption and user trust. Technology alone doesn’t guarantee that people will start using stablecoins to pay for coffee or that merchants will accept them. Competing networks (from established ones like Ethereum and Tron, to other regulated chains and upcoming central bank digital currencies) are vying to dominate digital payments. Concordium will need to prove that its model is not only safer but also practical and convenient on a global scale. That might involve partnerships with payment processors, fintech apps, or even governments to get stablecoin-based payments rolling in the real world. It’s encouraging to see Visa’s data highlighting the tiny fraction of stablecoin volume going to real commerce, it means there’s immense room for growth if the right solution clicks. But it also means changing user behavior and building new acceptance networks, which is no small feat. adoption and user trust In the end, Concordium’s initiative can be seen as part of a broader maturing of the crypto industry, a recognition that to go mainstream, crypto must play by the rules and earn trust. By engineering “trust and compliance” into the fabric of its blockchain, Concordium is taking a thoughtful step in that direction. Whether this ultimately leads to a breakthrough in stablecoin adoption remains to be seen, but it’s a development worth watching. If successful, it could mark a turning point where digital currencies finally become as routine in daily transactions as swiping a credit card. And even if hurdles remain, efforts like this are valuable in testing what it really takes to connect decentralized tech with the demands of the real economy. The road to a crypto-powered payment future will require both innovation and cooperation with regulators and Concordium is betting that a little more structure at the protocol level might be the key to unlocking that future. to go mainstream, crypto must play by the rules and earn trust The road to a crypto-powered payment future will require both innovation and cooperation with regulators and Concordium is betting that a little more structure at the protocol level might be the key to unlocking that future. Don’t forget to like and share the story! This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYO This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYO This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYO business blogging program business blogging program

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