According to on-chain data highlighted by market strategist Jamie Coutts, the crypto economy may be entering a new phase of maturity as stablecoin transfer volumes begin to diverge from both blockchain fee trends and global liquidity cycles.
Historically, crypto activity has been tightly linked to liquidity expansion, when central banks increase money supply, both asset prices and blockchain usage rise. Most of that activity has been speculative, driven by trading, derivatives, and store-of-value demand. But recent data shows a fundamental change.
Until now, crypto activity has mostly been liquidity-driven —when global money aggregates exapnd, prices and on-chain usage follow. Thats because use-cases have been speculative driven; spot, perpetuals trading, SoV etc.
But since mid-year, stablecoin transfer volumes have… pic.twitter.com/GyXiq6SGBG
— Jamie Coutts CMT (@Jamie1Coutts) October 27, 2025
Since mid-2025, stablecoin transfers have continued to climb, even as global liquidity indicators have leveled off and blockchain fees have softened. Coutts describes this as a “structural shift”, indicating real-world adoption of stablecoins for payments, settlements, and commercial transactions, rather than just speculation.
This decoupling suggests that parts of the crypto economy are starting to operate independently from the traditional liquidity cycle, a major development for blockchain resilience. While volatility and drawdowns will still occur, the underlying infrastructure is beginning to move to its own rhythm, supported by consistent, utility-driven flows.
Coutts adds that the convergence of stablecoins and AI could accelerate this transformation, creating new blockchain applications that are less cyclical, more scalable, and better aligned with real-world use cases. Analysts see this as an inflection point where blockchain rails evolve from speculative finance toward becoming an essential layer of the global digital economy.