Binance: Emerging market users will rise to 77% in 2026, crypto trading platforms are being used as "shadow banks"

Binance released a research report saying that emerging market users have accounted for 77% of the total platform users, up from 49% in 2020. The report points out that more and more users are using crypto exchanges for savings, payments and investments rather than simply transactions. Binance said that 1.3 billion adults around the world still lack financial services, 4.7 billion adults do not have access to credit, and approximately 1.4 billion savers in low-income countries do not receive interest income on their deposits. In this context, crypto platforms are filling the gap in traditional financial services. The report shows that about 36% of emerging market users allocate at least half of their assets to stablecoins, a phenomenon Binance believes reflects that stablecoins are being regarded as a savings tool. It also pointed out that the cost of cross-border transfers in stablecoins can be as low as US$0.0001 and can achieve near-instant settlement, which is more advantageous than the average cost of traditional SWIFT cross-border remittances of more than US$20.