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(Bloomberg) — Consumers and businesses are using stablecoins – digital tokens pegged to the dollar – to make real-world purchases and payments at an accelerating pace since the July passage of the first US legislation to regulate that niche of the cryptocurrency sector.

Over $10 billion was moved through stablecoins in August for goods, services, and transfers, up from $6 billion in February and more than double the volume from August 2024, according to a report from Artemis, a blockchain data provider. At this pace, stablecoin payments could reach $122 billion over a full year, Artemis researchers said.

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This growth follows President Donald Trump’s signing of the Genius Act into law on July 18, which established federal regulations for stablecoin issuers and requires them to back their tokens with highly liquid assets such as Treasury bills.

While stablecoin payments are growing rapidly, they remain tiny compared to traditional systems. At a $122 billion annual pace, stablecoin payments represent a small fraction of conventional payment volumes. Still, this gives stablecoin advocates optimism about the instrument’s growth prospects.

“If you look at stablecoin supply on a certain trend, and then right after Genius passed, the trend does inflect even more,” said Andrew Van Aken, data scientist at Artemis, noting the report’s illustration of an increase in the growth rate of stablecoin supply. “We certainly think it has had an incremental impact.”

Business-to-business transfers make up the most of stablecoin payments at $6.4 billion monthly – nearly two-thirds of the total and up 113% since February, the report said. This marks the first time business payments have exceeded peer-to-peer consumer transactions, which held steady at $1.6 billion monthly, according to Artemis.

Companies are using stablecoins to bypass traditional international banking delays. Businesses are “fed up with this very cumbersome send deposit here to this bank, which then sends another bank, which sends another bank,” Van Aken said.

With an average business stablecoin payment of $250,000, Van Aken said larger purchases are where speed matters most. Companies can use stablecoin to avoid the delays of routing payments through multiple correspondent banks in the traditional system, he said.

Banks have taken notice. Zelle, the bank-owned service that facilitates consumer money movement,  plans to expand its services internationally. Zelle will rely on stablecoins to enable cross-border money movement, according to a statement Friday from its parent company.

Van Aken added that the ability of stablecoin users to earn yield and facilitate faster transfers of capital gives it an added advantage, which, in turn, could mean that stablecoins could continue to see added adoption.

“As stable coins prove to be better money, that will only accelerate people’s trust in it and continue the growth,” Van Aken said.

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Intuitive Machines (LUNR) has drawn fresh attention as investors weigh the impact of new US export curbs on tech to China. At the same time, the company is advancing its IM-3 lunar mission and securing NASA contracts.

See our latest analysis for Intuitive Machines.

Intuitive Machines stock has whipped through a period of volatility, recently clawing back gains with a 28% share price return over the past month despite ongoing US-China export tensions and scrutiny following past missions. Although year-to-date share price return remains in negative territory, the strong one-year total shareholder return of 60% suggests that long-term momentum is still firmly alive for patient investors.

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Given its recent contract wins, strong analyst sentiment, and a price still about 20 percent below consensus targets, are investors overlooking an undervalued space innovator? Or is future growth already built into the current share price?

With Intuitive Machines closing at $12.81 and the most widely followed narrative placing fair value at $15.43, this perspective sets a higher bar than the current market price. This hints at room for re-rating if assumptions hold.

Strategic vertical integration of satellite and lander manufacturing, along with proprietary advancements from the KinetX acquisition, enhances cost efficiencies, IP control, and technological differentiation. These factors support higher net margins and competitive pricing power as the company scales recurrent service contracts across civil, defense, and commercial markets.

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However, persistent losses and heavy reliance on large government contracts could quickly dampen the bullish outlook if execution or funding falls short.

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While Intuitive Machines looks attractive when compared to its fair value estimate, a look at its price-to-sales ratio tells a different story. The company is trading at 6.7 times its sales, which is much higher than the US Aerospace & Defense industry average of 3.2 and the peer average of 2.7. The market’s fair ratio, based on regression analysis, stands at just 1.4 times sales. This large gap suggests considerable valuation risk if the company fails to maintain its growth edge. Which view should investors trust?

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Companies discussed in this article include LUNR.

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