The New Standard of the Digital World: How Stablecoins Are Changing the Global Financial Landscape

On April 26, 1956, an old tanker named "Ideal X" set sail from Newark, carrying 58 uniformly sized closed metal boxes in its hold. What seemed like an ordinary day marked the beginning of the container shipping era, initiating a revolution that would fundamentally change the global trade landscape.

Decades later, another "standard" is quietly rising in the digital world. It is not meant to change the essence of currency, but to provide a unified interface for global currency circulation. This new standard is stablecoin. Although it is still uncertain whether it can achieve the same level of importance as containers, it already possesses all the characteristics of a great invention: misunderstood, resisted, undervalued, yet silently changing the world.

Container: A Simple Invention that Changed the World

The global shipping industry in the 1950s was chaotic. Different countries, ports, and companies used their own containers, dock structures, and loading and unloading rules, resulting in misunderstandings, delays, and high costs for every international shipment.

The emergence of containers has completely changed the situation. According to data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, after adopting container transportation, the loading and unloading costs plummeted from $5.86 per ton to $0.16, a reduction of over 97%. Shipping time was shortened from several weeks to several days, and port operation time decreased from 72 hours to less than 8 hours, with turnover rates increasing by over 8 times.

This simple standardization changed the structure of global trade. In the 1970s, the International Organization for Standardization adopted the 20-foot and 40-foot containers as international uniform standards, and global ports, trucks, warehouses, and ships rebuilt their systems around these two sizes. Research shows that containerization increased bilateral trade volumes between participating countries by 790%, far exceeding the 45% growth brought by any form of free trade agreement at that time.

Stablecoin: The "container" of the digital world

Stablecoins were initially considered to lack technological substance, not seen as innovative by geeks, nor deemed sufficiently "decentralized" by Bitcoin believers. However, it is embedding the liquidity of the internet into a consensus-based monetary standard.

If Bitcoin brought about an attempt at the decentralization of monetary power, then stablecoins bring standardization and efficiency optimization to transaction processes. Its goal is simple: to allow "stable money" to flow like code.

This simple goal has produced amazing results. It is expected that by 2025, the global on-chain transaction volume of stablecoins will exceed $27 trillion, approaching the annual total of the global card payment system. One particular stablecoin accounts for nearly 60%, with a market capitalization exceeding $155 billion.

The advantages of stablecoins lie in their on-chain liquidity. They facilitate clearing scenarios across chains, countries, and accounts, making cross-border payments fast and low-cost. According to certain data, the transaction fee for cross-border payments using stablecoins can be as low as $0.01, compared to an average fee of 6.6% and a settlement period of 3-7 days in traditional systems, representing a qualitative leap in terms of cost and efficiency.

Moreover, stablecoins provide new possibilities for financial inclusion. There are over 1.7 billion adults globally without a bank account, but most people have smartphones. Through digital wallets and stablecoins, these individuals can easily access functions similar to bank accounts without the need for complicated account opening processes and credit assessments.

In some countries facing economic difficulties, stablecoins have even become alternative currencies, serving as tools for exchange rate anchoring and inflation resistance. In special circumstances, such as during wartime, stablecoins can also become "digital cash" to help people meet urgent needs such as fundraising, distribution, and procurement.

The Power of Standards: Reshaping the World Order

Why can "standards" like containers and stablecoins quietly change the world, rather than those eye-catching technological breakthroughs?

The answer lies in the fact that standards are not just an invention but a form of order. They do not require absolute technological superiority but rely on widespread acceptance and use. The reason containers have transformed global shipping is that they are simple enough for anyone to use. Similarly, stablecoins are becoming the universal interface of the digital world, not because they are technologically complex, but because they are simple, universal, and neutral enough.

We are in the early stages of stablecoin development, much like containers in 1956. Although countries' regulations are still weighing its legality and traditional financial institutions view it as a temporary tool, the order has quietly changed. Some regions have begun to promote the compliance of stablecoins, and mainstream payment companies are gradually accommodating stablecoins.

Stablecoins are moving from the cryptocurrency space to broader application scenarios, with the potential to become a universal interface for the global internet economy. They may not completely replace traditional currencies, but they are likely to become the underlying settlement protocol for collaboration and value circulation between emerging technology systems.

The future global clearing network may consist of algorithms, smart contracts, and consensus mechanisms, with its underlying circulating units likely being these code-defined digital "containers". They seem ordinary but have the potential to reshape the boundaries of clearing, collaboration, and financial coverage, quietly changing the world.