Crypto usage is evolving rapidly, with stablecoins like Tether’s USDt and Circle’s USDC accounting for 40% of total crypto volume in Q3 2025. Practicality, not ideology, is driving adoption, especially in emerging regions like Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Retail-sized transfers below $250 are increasing, showing growth in small-value payments. Stablecoins are becoming the first crypto asset for many, solving problems for countries like the Philippines with high remittance needs.

Countries like India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Brazil, and the Philippines are leading in grassroots crypto activity, with stablecoin transfers ranging from $100 to $500 in emerging markets. Adoption among Filipinos has increased, driven by play-to-earn gaming and remittance needs.

New crypto users prioritize utility over security fundamentals like private keys and self-custody. Security needs to be built natively into products to address the risk and responsibility concerns of users sending and receiving funds.

The next wave of crypto adoption focuses on abstracting away complexity to make using stablecoins and blockchain technology seamless for users engaging in real-world utility. Security features must be integrated into products to foster mainstream adoption and financial inclusion.

With USDT and USDC dominating global crypto trading volume and over 161 million people holding stablecoins, the asset class is larger than the population of the world’s 10 biggest cities combined. The future of crypto depends on recognizing the changing face of adoption and building technologies that serve this new reality.

Read more at Cointelegraph: Crypto’s Changing Demographics Demand A New Approach To Crypto Security