Fernando Castellanos is global head of digital assets and sponsor banks at Prove, a digital identity platform that enables real-time verification of people, agents and businesses to reduce fraud for global organizations.

Stablecoins are transforming how money moves globally and gaining traction among businesses and consumers alike. They enable instant, low-cost transactions, seamless cross-border payments, and faster remittances, but also make it easier for fraud to scale.

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As real-time financial systems accelerate, risk and governance must keep pace. Identity can no longer be a one-time checkpoint — it must be verified continuously, from the start of a transaction to its completion.

Fraud follows money

According to BVNK’s Stablecoin Utility Report 2026, the market is now valued at over $300 billion. Stablecoins are popular for cross-border payments, B2B transactions and payouts in the creator and gig economy.

They’re also playing a pivotal role as tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), providing stability and liquidity for 24/7 on-chain trading. As speed increases, so does fraud risk, including account takeovers (ATOs), transaction manipulation, synthetic identity abuse, and cross-border money laundering. When stablecoin transactions settle instantly, financial institutions can’t rely on traditional post-transaction controls.

Fast money needs better trust

The risks are evident: 30% of people who pay with stablecoins say irreversible payments and the risk of losing their funds are their primary frustration. Stablecoins have many advantages, but static identity checks at onboarding and account creation aren’t enough. Stablecoins need identity systems that verify users continuously across every transaction.

Imagine continuous risk scoring and verification across the entire identity lifecycle, where users’ personal devices become powerful identity anchors. Because users already rely on these devices to access financial services, device-based, possession-based identity provides reassurance for both consumers and businesses.

Building an identity infrastructure for stablecoin ecosystems

The same features that make stablecoins powerful — liquidity, automation, rapid transaction cycles, and global access — also enable digital fraud to thrive. That’s why these sensitive transactions call for persistent identity verification.

Device-bound verification can confirm whether a device belongs to the account holder, while SIM, device, and carrier tenure help determine whether it’s actually in their possession at the time of a transaction. Additional signals, such as device reputation and long-term behavioral patterns, can indicate whether a device has been compromised.

Regulation is catching up

U.S. regulators are moving on stablecoins. The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, signed into law in summer 2025, brings stablecoins into the regulatory mainstream. It creates a path for broader institutional adoption and requires one-to-one backing for payment stablecoins with cash or short-term government securities.

Some critics, including New York City prosecutors, warn that the GENIUS Act in its current form could allow cryptocurrency companies to profit from fraud. While it marks progress, stricter rules have been proposed and are expected to take effect by 2028.

Regulators are building clearer frameworks for stablecoins, with stronger identity controls likely to become requirements. As those rules take hold, the market could grow to $2 trillion, expanding the liquidity layer for RWA tokenization and creating new rails for autonomous, AI-driven finance.

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That speed and scale demand real-time identity risk management and a stronger foundation for compliance. In practice, that means real-time device, SIM, network, and phone intelligence, paired with a risk system that continuously verifies identity.

Stablecoins have already ushered in a new era of global money movement, defined by stability and speed. Banks and financial institutions need to move from static checks to continuous, multi-signal identity verification. Those that embed trust into every transaction will be best positioned to capture the upside of high-speed finance.