Small transfers dominated stablecoin usage on BNB Chain in the third quarter of 2026, but large transactions carried most of the money. A report from Mercuryo and BNB Chain, released on October 19, found that transfers below $100 represented 77.4% of activity, while transactions worth at least $10,000 moved 66.2% of the value.
Key takeaways
- Non-dollar currencies funded 70% of Mercuryo’s stablecoin purchase value on BNB Chain.
- Apple Pay and Google Pay handled 69.5% of purchases.
- Self-custody wallet channels led both purchases and cash-outs by value.
- The median network charge for a stablecoin transfer was $0.0068.
The research combines Mercuryo’s purchases and sales of stablecoins with BNB Chain’s on-chain data. It examines three separate stages—buying, transferring and selling—and finds consumer-style payment habits at the entry and exit points, alongside a sharp divide between transfer counts and transferred value.
Stablecoin usage on BNB Chain starts with local currencies
Buyers largely used non-dollar money to acquire dollar stablecoins through Mercuryo: 70% of purchase value came from other currencies. Even among dollar-funded purchases, at least two-thirds of the value came from buyers outside the United States.
The dollar accounted for 30.1% of purchase value, followed by the euro at 19.8%, the Japanese yen at 15.0%, the UAE dirham at 5.5%, the Israeli shekel at 4.9% and the Taiwan dollar at 3.0%. Asia led geographically, contributing 39.3% of value and 43.9% of purchases; Europe supplied 33.4% of value, ahead of the United States at 9.8% and Africa at 7.3%.
Apple Pay and Google Pay processed 69.5% of purchases and 57.7% of their value, compared with 42.3% of purchases a year earlier. Phones accounted for 87% of purchases where device information was recorded. Direct card payments represented 28.9% of purchases and 39.5% of value.
Self-custody wallet channels received 59.5% of purchase value, including apps such as Trust Wallet, Bitget Wallet and MetaMask, and hardware-wallet channels such as Tangem. Hardware-wallet purchases averaged about twice the size of software-wallet purchases.
Small transfers dominate activity, large transfers dominate value
BNB Chain’s transfer data shows two different scales of activity: payments below $100 were frequent but carried little value, while transactions of $10,000 or more were rare and financially dominant.
The larger group represented just 0.4% of transfers yet carried 66.2% of value. The median network fee was $0.0068—less than one cent—excluding the separate costs of buying and selling stablecoins.
In the August 22, 2026 snapshot, individual addresses held 63.3% of stablecoin value, centralized exchanges held 19.9%, other smart contracts held 13.0% and decentralized exchanges held 3.8%. At that point, 64.3% of value had moved during the preceding 30 days.
Over the quarter, monthly active addresses climbed from 20.5 million in July to 22.7 million by September, averaging 21.4 million overall. Most activity was light: 55.9% of active addresses sent or received between two and five transfers a month.
Self-custody wallet apps supplied 59.8% of Mercuryo’s off-ramp value, closely matching their share at purchase.
First-time sellers made 22.6% of sales, compared with first-time buyers’ 21.8% share of purchases. Sales averaged about 1.5 times the size of purchases.
Familiar checkout methods connect the three stages
The report’s reading of stablecoin usage on BNB Chain centers on two-way currency conversion: local money enters through familiar payment tools, and stablecoins are converted back out of dollars.
Self-custody wallet channels accounted for a majority of Mercuryo’s value at both ends: 59.5% on purchase and 59.8% on sale.
Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.