Gate Research: PayFi: Redefining Web2–Web3 Integration

Between 2025 and 2026, PayFi is evolving from a crypto payment tool into a next-generation payment and financial engine, with stablecoins achieving scale in high-frequency and cross-border payments and demonstrating clear efficiency and cost advantages over traditional systems. As Web2 and Web3 continue to converge, institutions such as Visa, PayPal, and emerging neobanks are becoming key gateways to mainstream adoption, while the combination of stablecoins, real-world assets (RWA), and AI is shaping PayFi’s foundational architecture by enabling automated, always-on settlement, asset mobility, and risk management. Looking ahead to 2026, regulatory clarity, scalable asset tokenization, and the maturity of AI-driven financial systems will be the primary determinants of PayFi’s competitive landscape and long-term barriers.

• PayFi Macro Landscape: PayFi is evolving from a niche “crypto payment application” into a foundational value layer connecting payments, settlement, and financial services. Its core innovation lies not in changing the form of payment, but in unlocking the time value of money within transaction flows. As stablecoin settlement infrastructure matures, blockchain scalability improves, and regulatory frameworks gradually clarify, PayFi increasingly resembles a structural upgrade to financial infrastructure rather than a peripheral fintech experiment. The convergence of Web2 and Web3 is accelerating, with traditional payment rails and on-chain settlement layers beginning to operate in parallel, allowing payment activity and financial services to merge into a unified value cycle.
• Key Stablecoin Metrics: Stablecoins have transitioned from trading instruments to high-frequency payment and settlement tools. In 2025, annual on-chain stablecoin transaction volume reached approximately $33 trillion, surpassing the combined processing volume of major global card networks and underscoring their growing payment utility. In cross-border use cases, settlement times have compressed from T+2/T+3 to near real-time finality, while costs have fallen by an order of magnitude. This efficiency shift is positioning stablecoins as a global neutral settlement layer. As adoption widens and regulatory clarity improves, stablecoins are evolving from internal crypto liquidity tools into interoperable, cross-jurisdictional money movement infrastructure.
• RWA and AI Ecosystem Developments: On the asset side, research from institutions such as McKinsey and ARK Invest suggests tokenized real-world assets could expand into the multi-trillion-dollar range by 2030, with highly compliant, cash-flow-generating instruments—such as government bonds, fund shares, and private credit—leading early adoption. On the intelligence layer, Grand View Research projects sustained growth in AI-driven financial services, where AI systems increasingly support payment routing optimization, fraud detection, and compliance monitoring. Over time, AI agents operating within defined risk parameters may autonomously manage capital allocation and execution. RWA introduces yield-bearing collateral into on-chain systems, while AI enhances capital efficiency—together deepening the financialization of PayFi networks.
• Infrastructure and Institutional Participation: Established and emerging financial players are acting as key bridges bringing PayFi into mainstream adoption. Visa is integrating stablecoin settlement into its global network, PayPal is extending merchant connectivity through its own stablecoin initiatives, and JPMorgan Chase is combining deposit systems with blockchain-based settlement infrastructure—each reflecting proactive institutional integration rather than displacement. Meanwhile, native blockchain networks are moving closer to real-world commerce: Solana emphasizes high-throughput consumer payment use cases, while XRP Ledger continues to focus on cross-border settlement connectivity. Competitive dynamics in PayFi are therefore shifting away from isolated applications toward comprehensive infrastructure capabilities defined by regulatory readiness, asset scale, and intelligent financial automation.

Discover more details today → Gate Research: PayFi: Redefining Web2–Web3 Integration

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Gate Ekibi
6 Şubat 2026

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