The Next PayPal: How This Unloved Asset Class Is Going Mainstream

Robert Ross|July 1, 2025

Charles Hoskinson – the founder of Cardano (ADA) and one of crypto’s early architects – recently made a bold prediction…

Once the stablecoin and market structure bills pass, that opens the floodgates: Apple, Facebook [Meta], Google, and Microsoft will put crypto wallets in their platforms. When you add their users up, it’s 3 billion people.

That might sound far-fetched… until you realize it’s already happening.

JPMorgan (JPM) just filed to trademark its own stablecoin, JPMD. PayPal (PYPL) launched its own stablecoin, PYUSD, last year. And Visa (V) is actively working to integrate stablecoins like USDC into its global payments network.

This isn’t about some fringe crypto project. This is about digital dollars – and how they’re quietly replacing the plumbing underneath the global financial system.

Let me explain…

Digital Cash

A stablecoin is a digital asset designed to track the value of a traditional currency – usually the U.S. dollar. Think of it like a dollar that lives on the internet.

Unlike Bitcoin, which fluctuates in price, stablecoins aim to remain pegged 1-to-1 with the dollar. That makes them perfect for everything from trading to payments to remittances. They move instantly. They’re borderless. And they settle in seconds – 24/7, even on holidays.

To use an old-school analogy… if Bitcoin is digital gold, stablecoins are digital cash. Or, more accurately, digital PayPal – but with lower fees and no middlemen.

And they’re already big business.

The Stablecoin Market Is Quietly Exploding

As of June 2025, there are over $160 billion in stablecoins circulating globally. That number was under $3 billion just five years ago. The two largest players – Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC) – process hundreds of billions in monthly volume.

To put that into perspective… Circle, the company behind USDC, makes most of its money by earning interest on reserves and processing fees on stablecoin transactions. In 2023, it pulled in $779 million in revenue and is on track to double that by the end of this year.

Circle’s recent IPO under the ticker CRCL has already surged more than 200%. That’s not just hype – it’s a signal Wall Street is beginning to understand just how powerful the stablecoin model really is.

Why Stablecoins Matter for You

Most people assume that investing in crypto means speculating on volatile coins like Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH). But stablecoins are about infrastructure – the rails that future payments, remittances, lending, and even payroll will run on.

Stablecoins are also a rare part of the crypto ecosystem that both Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on. New legislation like the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act has strong bipartisan momentum. Once passed, it will create the legal certainty that big tech firms like Apple and Google need to enter the space.

That’s why Hoskinson’s quote is so important.

If even two or three of the companies he mentions add stablecoin-powered wallets to their platforms… we’re not talking about 10 million users…

We’re talking about billions.

A Second Chance at a Massive Trend

I often compare this moment to the early 2000s.

Back then, PayPal quietly powered the financial engine behind eBay. Most people didn’t fully understand it – but the company went public in 2002 and was quickly acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion. That deal launched the careers (and fortunes) of Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and many others.

Now imagine that – on steroids.

Stablecoins like USDC are already powering payment apps, cross-border commerce, and financial infrastructure for companies ranging from Coinbase to Stripe. But we’re still early in this adoption curve.

And unlike PayPal in 2002, today’s stablecoin leaders are building in public markets. You can own them.

The Bottom Line

When you hear “crypto,” most people think speculation, volatility, and risk.

But stablecoins flip that narrative on its head.

They’re boring by design – but with a business model that could rival Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal combined.

And as the legal framework catches up – and Apple, Google, and Facebook inevitably roll out stablecoin wallets – you’re going to see a once-niche product go completely mainstream.

That’s why we’re tracking this space so closely. I even hosted an event with Manward’s Chief Investment Strategist Shah Gilani where we dug into a handful of high-upside small cryptocurrencies that support stablecoin infrastructure.

Because once the world catches on… the opportunity will already be gone.

And I don’t plan to miss it.

Stay safe out there,

Robert

P.S. The special event I mentioned above revealed something urgent: President Trump is days away from signing legislation that could trigger a massive institutional crypto buying spree. Shah Gilani and I identified the specific coins positioned to benefit most. Watch our emergency briefing here before it’s too late.