Pantera CEO at TOKEN2049: “There’s already demand worth $250 billion for stablecoins”

Speaking at the TOKEN2049 event in Dubai, Pantera Capital’s CEO, Dan Morehead, focused on one of blockchain’s biggest success stories so far — stablecoins. He pointed out that demand for stablecoins has already hit $250 billion, underlining just how widely adopted they’ve become around the world.

He added, “It’s allowing literally 5 billion people on earth to access the financial system, the world, which is really an amazing accomplishment. There’s already $250 billion of demand for stablecoins.”

According to him, stablecoins offer something simple but powerful: all the benefits of crypto without the wild price swings. “There’s a lot of users out there that want to use all the benefits of tokens, but they don’t want the currency volatility,” he said.

Stablecoins are quietly unlocking finance for 5 billion people. No bank? No problem. Just a phone is enough — no paperwork, no permission. In a world where trust in banks is crumbling, that’s huge.

But the talk wasn’t all optimistic. He raised a serious point about how some stablecoins are built — using borrowed money, leveraged investments, and risky strategies. “Take 13 to 1 leverage on your stablecoin… you know what’s going to happen if the markets go down?” he asked. 

His worry? Some stablecoin issuers are offering “instant liquidity” while their reserves sit in risky, long-term bets. The red flag’s clear: stablecoins pack serious power, but if built on shaky foundations, they could trigger the next big financial mess.