The increasing importance of stablecoins to the global financial system has seen them become the 18th largest holder of U.S. Treasury bonds, brokerage Bernstein said in a research note on Thursday. After a decline in supply in 2023, stablecoin liquidity has now recovered to an all-time high of $170 billion, with monthly on-chain payments tripling over the past 12 months to reach $1.40 trillion in July, the report said. The report noted that these cryptocurrencies are moving towards more integration with payments and fintech companies such as PayPal (PYPL), MercadoLibre (MELI) and Grab (GRAB).