Digital assets are no longer just trading tools, but are becoming part of the global payment system. At last month's Davos Forum, Binance founder CZ shared a crucial observation: digital assets are no longer just trading tools, but are becoming part of the global payment system. He also emphasized that what truly makes this a reality is not just technology, but the combination of technology and compliance. In other words, on-chain innovation alone is not enough; it must be able to integrate into the real-world financial system. This assessment pinpoints the most fundamental change in the current fintech industry: we are undergoing a restructuring of payment infrastructure. From industry practice, this trend is already very evident. Many innovative fintech companies, such as Interlace, are not simply creating a new wallet or issuing a new coin, but rather bridging the gap between on-chain assets and traditional payment networks, enabling digital assets to be used compliantly and smoothly in the real world. The old payment system hasn't disappeared, but it's beginning to connect with the new world. The traditional payment system is actually very mature: bank card networks, clearing systems, and the banking system have been operating for decades, stable and efficient. However, the problem is that it was designed for traditional business models. As transactions become globalized, digitalized, and platform-based, some problems have become increasingly apparent: long cross-border payment processes, high fees, and slow arrival times; significant losses during currency conversions; and insufficient support for digital assets and new business models (such as Web3 and the digital content economy). At this point, stablecoins and on-chain payments begin to demonstrate different possibilities. Artemis data shows that in 2025, the total global stablecoin trading volume surged to approximately $33 trillion, a year-on-year increase of about 72%. This far exceeds the growth rate of traditional cross-border payment transactions, clearly demonstrating the market's strong demand for efficient, programmable, and low-cost payment methods. At the same time, compliance has become an unavoidable factor. From KYC and AML to payment license regulations, various rules are constantly being refined. On the one hand, they define industry boundaries; on the other hand, they are also driving the industry towards a longer-term, sustainable development path. Three scenarios where stablecoins truly have the opportunity to explode. If we look beyond stablecoins as a tool within the cryptocurrency world, their value is mainly concentrated in three real-world scenarios: 1. Cross-border payments: inherently suitable for borderless money. Cross-border payments have always been one of the most complex aspects of traditional finance. Multiple intermediaries, high exchange rate losses, and long arrival times. Stablecoins, because they are pegged to fiat currencies and have fast on-chain transfers, can naturally bypass many intermediate clearing processes, allowing funds to flow more smoothly between different countries.For cross-border e-commerce, overseas services, and SMEs in the trade sector, this isn't a "technology upgrade," but rather a direct saving of money and time. 2. Web3 and Digital Payment Scenarios: Volatile cryptocurrencies are unsuitable as everyday currency. In scenarios like NFTs, blockchain games, and the content creator economy, people are already accustomed to on-chain assets, but using highly volatile tokens for daily payments doesn't provide a good experience. Stablecoins here act more like a cash layer in the digital world: suitable for high-frequency, small-amount, and instant settlements, allowing on-chain business models to run smoothly, rather than being interrupted by price fluctuations. 3. Enterprise-level Payments and Fund Management: Programmable money is beginning to have its place. More and more companies no longer need just a single bank account, but require: multi-account systems, automated settlement, programmable payment rules, and globally unified fund allocation capabilities. The composability of stablecoins and on-chain payments allows companies to modularize accounts, settlements, and authorizations, which is particularly attractive to platform companies and globally operating enterprises. Implementation Challenges: Stablecoins still face three hurdles to become a reality. Despite their great potential, the large-scale implementation of stablecoin payments still faces real challenges. The first hurdle is the disconnect between the payment scenarios. Many users hold stablecoins, but most offline and mainstream online merchants cannot directly accept them, creating a gap between on-chain assets and real-world consumption scenarios. The second hurdle is the high complexity of compliance. Cross-border businesses often involve multiple jurisdictions, and different regions have significantly different regulatory attitudes towards stablecoins. From licensing to KYC/AML coordination, companies need to invest significant resources in compliance and risk control, which is particularly challenging for SMEs. The third hurdle is the lengthy technical chain. Wallets, payment gateways, risk control systems, clearing and settlement networks, card issuers… stablecoin payments rely on the coordination of a complete financial infrastructure, which cannot be easily integrated by a single company. One practical solution is to integrate stablecoins into existing payment networks. From current industry practice, the model of combining crypto cards with compliant payment networks remains representative. Crypto cards, acting as a bridge between crypto assets and fiat currency, can be understood through a "sandwich structure": the upper and lower layers remain the fiat currency system and existing payment networks; stablecoins occupy the middle, acting as the means of value transfer and settlement; users and merchants may not directly perceive the existence of stablecoins. Taking Interlace's practice as an example, its Infinity Card crypto card product more accurately plays the role of the expenditure layer in a company's financial system.By directly connecting enterprises' multi-currency accounts and asset balances, the system handles the conversion and settlement of crypto assets and fiat currency in the background, enabling seamless global consumption scenarios without altering existing account structures and settlement logic. The advantages of this structure include: using assets in digital wallets as a source of expenditure, with the system automatically handling conversion and processing during consumption; direct access to existing global card network networks for use at online and offline merchants; embedding KYC/KYT and risk control capabilities into the card issuance and payment processes; and supporting compliant integration across multiple regions, reducing the difficulty for enterprises to apply for licenses and build their own systems. In other words, it doesn't solve the problem of how to conduct on-chain payments, but rather how to compliantly integrate on-chain funds into the real-world payment system. Currently, stablecoin payments are gradually being implemented, covering three core stakeholders: consumers, enterprises, and cross-border settlements. For consumers, stablecoins in their wallets can be used for daily online and offline consumption, breaking the limitations of on-chain asset usage and enjoying instant settlement and low-fee payment experiences. For enterprises, it allows for more flexible management of global cash flows, providing stablecoin payments to employees or partners and improving settlement efficiency. In cross-border settlement, multi-currency clearing capabilities can simplify traditional bank clearing processes, reduce exchange rate losses and fees, and shorten settlement cycles, especially catering to the cross-border trade needs of SMEs. These practices clearly demonstrate the innovative paths of fintech companies in both payment implementation and asset management. True upgrades involve technology and compliance advancing together. Looking ahead to the next few years, stablecoins will bring structural upgrades to the payment industry, with three trends becoming increasingly clear: First, the regulatory framework will gradually become clearer. Stablecoins will not remain in a gray area; local regulators will gradually clarify their rules. This is beneficial, not detrimental, for companies genuinely committed to long-term business. Second, digital payments will be more deeply embedded in the traditional financial system. Not as a replacement, but as an integration. Stablecoin payments will become a standard module in corporate financial systems. Third, modular financial infrastructure will become mainstream. Card issuance, risk control, clearing and settlement, and compliance capabilities will be accessed via APIs and service modules, rather than each company building from scratch. The changes brought by stablecoins are not just about adding another on-chain currency; they touch the very foundation of the payment system. However, the industry has gradually realized that technology that is not compliant will not go far, and compliance without technology is also inefficient.Only when technological capabilities, compliance frameworks, and real-world payment scenarios are truly integrated will stablecoins evolve from the infrastructure of the crypto world into a part of the global financial system.