The Bitcoin network has reached a monumental milestone by processing 6.9 trillion dollars in payments over the past 90 days, consolidating itself as a real alternative to traditional financial networks. This volume of operations places Bitcoin economic settlement and its total transfer capacity on par with, and even above, the combined volumes of Visa and Mastercard in the same period
According to Glassnode’s latest digital asset research report for the fourth quarter of 2025, this figure underscores how the digital asset and stablecoins are emerging as the preferred rails for moving value across borders without banking intermediaries.
Breaking down the figures, the report details that Visa processed 4.25 trillion dollars and Mastercard 2.63 trillion, totaling 6.88 trillion. In comparison, the decentralized network’s gross volume slightly exceeds this combined mark. Glassnode analysts point out that while trading activity is migrating off-chain toward ETFs and brokers, the underlying network continues to dominate final settlement. This phenomenon reflects a structural shift where cryptocurrencies are increasingly used for high-value transfers and institutional settlements, rather than for daily retail transactions like buying coffee.
However, it is crucial to distinguish between gross volume and the actual flow of value between distinct entities. When internal transfers are stripped out, the adjusted settlement volume is closer to 870 billion dollars per quarter, or about 7.8 billion daily. Although this figure is impressive, it still pales in comparison to Visa’s daily average volume of 39.7 billion, which is derived primarily from mass consumer spending. The disparity highlights that while the network shines as a wholesale settlement layer, its global merchant adoption remains fractional, with barely 20,599 merchants accepting direct payments versus Visa’s 175 million locations.
Could institutional adoption eventually transform daily retail use?
On the other hand, the report highlights the growing role of stablecoins, which now move an average of 225 billion dollars a day. Nevertheless, a deeper look reveals that nearly 70% of these transfers are linked to automated trading bots rather than organic human activity. Only about 20% of the total stablecoin volume corresponds to genuine non-automated activity, raising questions about the true penetration of these assets in the real economy beyond financial speculation and algorithmic arbitrage.
The analysis suggests that to correctly evaluate systemic risk and real adoption, policymakers must clearly differentiate between bot traffic and organic use. Bitcoin economic settlement proves to be a powerful tool for large capital flows, store-of-value investment, and remittances, but its integration into daily commerce advances at a different pace. Thus, the network is shaping up more as a global interbank or institutional settlement system than as an immediate retail payment network.
In conclusion, Bitcoin has demonstrated its ability to handle financial volumes of global scale, rivaling the planet’s largest payment processors in gross terms. The trend points to a network specialization toward security and high-value settlement, while secondary layers or hybrid solutions could handle retail volume in the future. As the infrastructure matures, it will be fascinating to observe if the gap between wholesale use and commercial adoption begins to close.
