10-19-2026 
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TL;DR: Chainalysis’s October 14 report says North America’s $3 trillion digital asset economy remains the world’s most influential, even though the U.S. crypto economy shrank 2.2%. The U.S. leads in AI agent payments (x402), tokenized Treasuries, and dollar stablecoins, but it exports these more than it holds them. Canada’s payments volume grew 2.3% to $247.7 billion, driven by peer-to-peer use and stablecoin remittances.
Key Takeaways
- North America’s roughly $3 trillion digital asset economy is the world’s most influential, according to Chainalysis’s report on the 12 months ending July 1, 2026.
- Over 138 million x402 transactions occurred on Base during the period, up from about 1,500, and the U.S. accounts for 30% of agent-to-services transactions.
- Chainalysis estimates the tokenized asset market ended Q2 2026 at $36.07 billion, up 135%, with tokenized U.S. Treasuries the largest asset at $15.42 billion (42.8%).
- U.S. holders make up only 11.7% of the global tokenized RWA holder base, so the U.S. is the top supplier but not the top buyer.
- 99.1% of stablecoin order book volume is pegged to the dollar, and the U.S. became a net importer of bitcoin in 2026 for the first time since 2022.
- Canada’s digital asset economy grew 2.3% to $247.7 billion and ranked first globally in cross-border stablecoin flows.
Canada’s digital currency market booms and dollar stablecoins dominate, while the U.S. leads in tokenization and the growing on-chain AI economy, a new report finds.
North America’s $3 trillion digital asset economy remains the most influential in the world, thanks to Canada’s growing market bucking global bear trends, and a trio of United States-developed products attracting major activity domestically and around the world, namely AI commerce, stablecoins, and tokenized assets, according to a new report from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis.
Published October 14, the report paints a picture of increasing North American influence in the global digital asset economy during the 12-month period ending July 1, 2026, even as the U.S. crypto economy itself—the largest in the world—shrank 2.2% over the period.
“With the United States’ deep investor base providing the capital, lawmakers updating regulations, stablecoins providing a currency, and businesses bringing crypto ever-closer to traditional finance, what happens in North America’s crypto industry gets exported to the world,” read the report. “Indeed, the U.S. and Canada topped our “big-money index,” an unweighted measurement of the sheer crypto-economic power of the countries we cover.”
AI agents on the rise
Beginning with the U.S., the reigning global leader in digital currency appears to have maintained its position at the top of the podium by being a leader in three crucial sectors, two of which are sub-sectors of the digital asset space—tokenization and stablecoin—while the third is arguably the most world-changing and agenda-setting technology of our time, artificial intelligence.
On the latter, based on an analysis of x402—one of the most popular digital payment rails that lets AI agents spend money—Chainalysis found that the autonomous software has begun paying for things on-chain, and that the U.S. has emerged as its dominant builder.
During the 12 months examined, over 138 million x402 transactions had occurred on Base blockchain, up from a mere 1,500 at the beginning of the period. The report also noted that U.S.-funded AI agents were transacting more with x402 services than agents funded from any other country, with the U.S. holding a 30% share of agent-to-services transactions.
Summing up these two findings, Chainalysis stated that: “The United States’ lead in the global AI development race is influencing all corners of the economy, including crypto.”
And this trend looks set to continue, with major market participants taking note. The report quoted BlackRock’s Head of Digital Assets Research, Will Su, who told Chainalysis that the firm is closely monitoring agentic commerce, “with AI agents potentially creating meaningful demand for frequent, low-value payments around the clock.”
Another area that has seen increasing attention over the past couple of years, and in which the U.S. is similarly dominant, is tokenization.
Tokenization boom continues
The current global tokenized asset market stands at approximately $17 billion, according to a June 2026 report from Citi Institute, which also projected it to reach $5.5 trillion by 2030 in a base-case scenario, with a bear case of $2.7 trillion and a bull case of $8.2 trillion.
Chainalysis went further, estimating the overall tokenization market to finish Q2 2026 at $36.07 billion, a 135% increase over the period. Of this, U.S. debt (Treasury bonds) was the single-largest tokenized real-world asset (RWA) in the period, with $15.42 billion on-chain, or 42.8% of all tokenized RWA value.
In contrast, U.S. holders are only 11.7% of the global tokenized RWA holder base, accounting for 11.4% of its value, which suggests that the North American powerhouse is the world’s top supplier but not its top buyer.
A similar pattern emerged for stablecoins, where U.S.-dollar-backed stablecoins are ever more popular outside the U.S., just as other assets take center stage domestically.
US not getting high on its own supply
One of the key findings from Chainalysis’ research was that the U.S. has been exporting stablecoins on a massive scale while remaining a relatively modest holder, instead appearing to focus on importing Bitcoin.
“Congressional passage of the GENIUS act in mid-2025 formalized what crypto economies around the world already know: the U.S. is the leading exporter of digital dollars,” read the report. “In the 2026 period we continued to see stablecoins enter new use cases most especially abroad, benefitting the U.S. companies, and the U.S. government, with billions of dollars in economic activity.”
Simultaneously, Chainalysis found that since the January 2024 launch of the spot Bitcoin ETFs, the U.S. share of global bitcoin activity has consistently risen in every reporting period. Counting all cross-border bitcoin flows into and out of the U.S., the country became a net importer in 2026 for the first time since 2022, just as stablecoins made up a smaller share of U.S. crypto activity than of activity elsewhere, and the gap is widening.
According to the report, 99.1% of stablecoin order book volume traded is pegged to the dollar, and “tokens leave American issuers without touching a correspondent bank or appearing in any payments statistics.”One explanation is that dollar stablecoins allow people to hold dollars without a U.S. bank account, which most Americans already have. Thus, the rest of the world is pivoting to a digital dollar because it meets a need that American users don’t share. At the same time, U.S. citizens appear to be leaning harder on bitcoin as an infinitely scarce store of value.
But it isn’t just the U.S. that is to thank for North America’s seemingly insurmountable position in digital currency.
Canada is a global leader in peer-to-peer
Canada‘s digital asset economy grew 2.3% between July 2025 and June 2026, reaching $247.7 billion overall.
The reason for this growth, according to Chainalysis, is that residents are using crypto for their everyday lives, and doing so “at rates far higher than we normally see in highly developed economies.”
Among G7 nations, Canada had the most robust overall peer-to-peer crypto economy in Chainalysis 2026 rankings, placing seventh globally in both domestic and cross-border flows. For stablecoins, Canada was first in the world in cross-border flows.
The report suggested this cross-border strength could be due to Canada’s thriving immigrant population.
“About 23% of Canada’s population is foreign-born, the highest share in the G7,” Morva Rohani, Executive Director of the Canadian Web3 Council, told Chainalysis. She went on to credit Canada’s large immigrant population as one of the key drivers of remittances, arguing that “remittance corridors to India, the Philippines, Nigeria, Pakistan, and China are heavily used.”
Based on Chainalysis data, India, China, and the Philippines together account for 19.4% of Canada’s outbound cross-border stablecoin value, up from 10.9% a year earlier.
Taken together, these findings suggest that, for Chainalysis, North America’s current success story is ultimately less about who holds digital assets and more about who builds the rails others use.
“American institutions, issuers, and developers now sit at the center of three overlapping on-chain markets: the Treasuries being tokenized, the dollars being held in stablecoin form, and the AI services being bought agentically,” concluded the report. “In each case, the users driving demand are increasingly outside the United States, while the infrastructure monetizing that demand is inside it. Canada is one such user, with growth running outward through dollar-denominated rails that neither its banks nor its regulators control.”
FAQs:
What is Chainalysis’s North America crypto report?
Published October 14, Chainalysis’s report covers the 12 months ending July 1, 2026. It finds North America’s roughly $3 trillion digital asset economy remains the world’s most influential, driven by U.S. AI commerce, stablecoins, and tokenized assets, plus Canada’s growth.
How many x402 transactions happened on Base?
Chainalysis counted over 138 million x402 transactions on Base during the 12-month period, up from about 1,500 at the start. Base is considered to be the most popular blockchain for agentic commerce, and the U.S. holds a 30% share of agent-to-services transactions.
What is x402?
x402 is one of the most popular digital payment rails that lets AI agents spend money.
How big is Canada’s crypto economy?
Canada’s digital asset economy grew 2.3% from July 2025 to June 2026, reaching $247.7 billion. Chainalysis says residents use crypto in everyday life at unusually high rates, and Canada ranked first globally in cross-border stablecoin flows.
Why is Canada strong in cross-border stablecoin flows?
About 23% of Canadians are foreign-born, the highest share in the G7, driving remittances to India, the Philippines, Nigeria, Pakistan, and China. India, China, and the Philippines account for 19.4% of Canada’s outbound stablecoin value, up from 10.9%.
Watch | Stablecoins: The 5-Question Strategic Test with BCG’s Dr. Bernhard Kronfellner
