While some investors are debating whether now is the right time to buy speculative assets such as Bitcoin, gold, silver, Ethereum, copper, or other cryptocurrencies, a more important development took place in 2025.
Bitcoin fell more than 50 percent from its October highs. Stablecoin payment volume roughly doubled to about $400 billion in 2025.
For years, the dominant assumption was that if broader crypto adoption increased, crypto prices would rise. Usage and valuation were treated as inseparable. This past year illustrated a divergence from that narrative. Stablecoin activity accelerated even as Bitcoin declined sharply. Parts of the ecosystem are gaining traction independent of price movement.
Does Adoption Equal Asset Appreciation?
Bitcoin is a scarce digital asset with attractive properties: decentralization, fixed supply, portability, and a robust protocol. Its valuation ultimately depends on what the next buyer is willing to pay for it as a store of value or alternative monetary asset. There is still no universally compelling anchor that says Bitcoin must be worth $2 trillion instead of $1 trillion, or $10 trillion instead of $2 trillion. Its long-term value proposition is primarily narrative-driven.
This does not mean Bitcoin is worthless, but it does lack a reasonable framework for evaluating its intrinsic worth. When an asset produces no cash flow and has limited commercial use, price behavior tends to resemble gold or other commodities that are primarily held for speculation and hedging rather than traditional investing.
Stablecoins, by contrast, are tools. Just like money, when used properly, is a tool. Stablecoins are digital dollars (or dollar equivalents) that move on blockchain rails. Their value does not come from appreciation. It comes from collateral backing and utility:
- Fast settlement
- 24/7 availability
- Global accessibility
- Low-cost transfers
- Programmability
The growth of stablecoins does not require Bitcoin to rise in price. It requires people to find them useful. Increasingly, they do.
An Obvious Use Case for Stablecoins
Consider global remittances. Today, millions of workers send money home to their families through services like Western Union or MoneyGram. These services often charge approximately 6 percent of the money sent, sometimes much more depending on the corridor.
If a worker sends $1,000 home each month, that is $60 paid in fees. Over a year, that is $720, a tremendous amount for households that rely on every dollar.
Stablecoin rails could reduce that dramatically.
Instead of converting local currency, paying a remittance fee, and waiting three to five business days for processing, a worker can acquire stablecoins, send them instantly on-chain, and have the recipient convert locally when needed.
With improved on-ramps and off-ramps, better wallet user experience, and regulatory clarity, this may become a powerful alternative. Even if the all-in cost drops from 6 percent to 1–2 percent, the savings are significant. This does not require a Bitcoin rally. It does not require speculative enthusiasm. It requires better, more useful infrastructure to replace a slow and costly incumbent system.
The Basis of Risk Taking
In many parts of the world, access to a stable currency is far more important than exposure to volatile assets like stocks or Bitcoin. Much of the wealth and success in the United States is built on deep, liquid capital markets and trust in the financial system.
When savers place their money in bank accounts instead of under mattresses, it creates the foundation for lending activity for banks. Lending enables business owners to take risks with capital they otherwise would not have. That risk capital supports innovation, new products and services, interest payments to lenders, and enterprise value for business owners.
For individuals in high-inflation economies, the first link in that chain is broken. There is little incentive to save if 5,000 Argentine pesos may be worth 50 percent less a month from now.
In that situation, US dollar-denominated stablecoins may provide a lifeline.
Decoupling the Narratives
We can be excited about stablecoin growth without making claims about Bitcoin’s market cap trajectory. Properly designed stablecoin ecosystems may reduce systemic risk and reflexivity because adoption does not depend entirely on token prices rising. The future of payments infrastructure, financial inclusion, and cross-border efficiency could change meaningfully as adoption increases.
It is compelling to consider that the long-term vision for blockchain may not be every token appreciating dramatically, but instead financial rails becoming faster, cheaper, and more global.
A worker sending $1,000 home and paying 1 percent instead of 6 percent in fees represents a tangible improvement in financial efficiency. We can be intellectually honest about Bitcoin’s uncertain valuation path while still recognizing the meaningful, practical value stablecoins are beginning to deliver.
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CONSIDER
“Life rewards action, not intelligence.
Many brilliant people talk themselves out of getting started, and being smart doesn’t help very much without the courage to act.
You can’t win if you’re not in the game.”
– James Clear
Clear’s idea highlights two opposing truths that we must hold simultaneously: life rewards action in almost every area I can think of, except the one we focus on here, investing.
In investing, the opposite is often true.
Waiting never feels like action. It feels like doing nothing. But in investing, I would argue that waiting is one of the most rewarding skills a person can acquire. The reward is not in the buying or selling. It is in the holding and the waiting.
I see far more investors conflating activity with productivity than the other way around.
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Let’s get after it this week!
Brooks
Brooks Palmer, CFP® is Head of Investments at Root where he helps identify, evaluate, and implement investment solutions tailored to clients’ needs. In Full-Court Press, he breaks down what’s happening in the markets—cutting through the noise and jargon—while connecting it to Root’s core investment tenets so you can make the most of your money and your life!
The examples provided are hypothetical and for illustrative purposes only. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The information presented should not be construed as investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or implement a particular strategy.
Advisory services are offered through Root Financial Partners, LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser.