The Potential for Cross-Border Transactions to Reach Trillions of Dollars, Blockchain Becomes the Infrastructure of the Future

Source: TokocryptoBlog Original Title: Cross-Border Transaction Potential Touches Trillions of Dollars, Blockchain Becomes the Infrastructure of the Future Original Link: The demand for cross-border transaction (cross-border payment) continues to rise alongside the growth of international trade, tourism, remittances, and the expansion of the global digital economy. Amid the strong push for faster, cheaper, and more transparent payments, blockchain technology is emerging as a new foundation for international transaction systems in the digital age.

Cross-border payment encompasses all transaction flows from one country to another, whether for corporate needs, consumers, or remittances of migrant workers. According to Statista data, the total value of global transactions is estimated to reach US$194.6 trillion by 2024 and could potentially soar to US$320 trillion by 2032. With such an economic scale, even the slightest increase in efficiency will have a significant impact on both businesses and consumers.

However, traditional cross-border payment systems are still burdened by various issues such as high costs, slow processes, limited transparency of transaction status, complexities of cross-jurisdiction regulations, and exchange rate volatility. The Financial Stability Board report (FSB) even assesses that the G20 target to reduce cross-border retail payment costs to 1 percent by 2027 is unlikely to be achieved if the current infrastructure is not updated.

Blockchain Emerges as a New Rail for Global Transactions

Blockchain technology offers characteristics of real-time transactions, high transparency, strong security, and 24-hour service availability. Several global initiatives demonstrate how this technology is starting to become a new rail for cross-border transactions.

Ripple, for example, leverages the digital asset XRP to provide cross-border transactions that are significantly faster than traditional correspondent banking networks. In Asia, the multi-CBDC project mBridge enables foreign exchange payments and settlements on a peer-to-peer basis in just seconds. Large-scale pilots have been conducted with real-value transactions, involving 22 private sector participants in trade, remittances, and supply chain financing scenarios.

At the international level, SWIFT and Visa are also developing blockchain-based solutions, tokenization, and stablecoins. SWIFT is testing its network's ability to process tokenized assets in collaboration with a consortium of banks and Consensys. Meanwhile, Visa is testing the use of stablecoins to accelerate cross-border settlement while reducing the need for businesses to hold balances in multiple currencies.

Despite its promise, blockchain adoption also faces strategic challenges: regulatory certainty for digital assets, the need for interoperability between platforms, cyber risks, and the readiness of financial institution infrastructure. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) emphasizes that cross-jurisdictional governance must be clarified before a multi-CBDC based payment ecosystem can be widely implemented.

Strategic Instruments for Stability and Welfare in the Digital Era

In the modern payment landscape, digital innovations, including cross-border instruments, not only serve to enhance transaction efficiency. They are also strategic instruments for strengthening financial stability, ensuring the relevance of payment systems, and promoting quality economic growth in the digital era.

The utilization of technologies such as blockchain, stablecoins, and CBDCs must be accompanied by synergy, caution, and strong governance in order to create sustainable wide-ranging benefits, not only for the financial system but also for the welfare of society.

The surge in cross-border payment volumes opens up significant business opportunities for the banking sector, financial technology, and digital infrastructure providers. The B2B segment is expected to dominate over US$31.6 trillion in transactions by 2024. Meanwhile, the total revenue of the cross-border payment industry is predicted to reach US$320 billion by 2030.

Blockchain, stablecoin, and CBDC are no longer just technological experiments. In many business models and modern monetary policies, the three are beginning to be positioned as primary candidates for establishing the foundation of international transactions capable of accommodating trillions of dollars per year.

If the challenges of interoperability and regulation can be overcome, the world will enter a new phase where cross-border payments occur as quickly as sending messages, with low costs, minimal risk, and broader access. Ultimately, this innovation will not only reform the global payment infrastructure but also strengthen economic stability and enhance the well-being of society in the digital age.