Back in the 1990s, sending an email across the world felt revolutionary. What once took days by post, or cost a fortune through long-distance calls suddenly became instant and free. Today, we hardly think twice before hitting "send." But while communication has evolved at lightning speed, how we move money hasn’t changed much.

All three decades of internet advancement, and our economic system is still entwined in slow, costly, and antiquated protocols. Transferring money overseas continues to take days, and small companies are losing some portion of each sale to card fees. For the millions of families that depend on remittances, up to 10% of their earnings are eaten away by transfer costs before it even passes the threshold of their front porch.

But then there is a panacea for all these issues. And it is Stablecoins— a web-era digital currency. Stablecoins are digital currencies pegged to stable assets such as the U.S. dollar or euro. They are rapid, secure, and programmable, and act just like digital cash. Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, which are mostly investment tokens, stablecoins are designed for day-to-day commerce and practical use.

Stablecoins combine the best of both worlds—trust in fiat with the efficiency of blockchain. They enable instant, borderless transactions without the need for banks, card networks, or FX conversion desks. In many ways, stablecoins represent a monetary protocol for the internet, just as HTTP enabled websites, stablecoins could underpin the next generation of online commerce and financial services.

Companies like SpaceX and ScaleAI are using stablecoins to pay contractors and manage treasury operations across borders. Payment giants like Stripe now offer stablecoin payouts, helping merchants reduce costs tied to legacy card networks.

The impact is even greater in the Global South. For the 800 million people who rely on remittances, stablecoins offer faster, cheaper transfers than services like Western Union. And for the 1.4 billion people around the world who don’t have access to a bank account, stablecoins can offer a path into the financial system, accessible with just a mobile phone.

But to maximize this potential, there must be transparent and thought-through regulation. Regulators and governments must struggle to render systems compatible, secure proper authorization, and provide transparency, not to stifle innovation. A well-regulated stablecoin system can bridge the gap between new and old, driving e-commerce to disaster relief.

It is not like Stablecoins will replace traditional finance overnight, but they offer a chance to rewire how money moves online, making it faster, more open, and more inclusive. Just like email changed communication, stablecoins may soon do the same for money.