Western banks are accelerating their retreat from some commodity trade finance activities as Iran-linked geopolitical conflict increases sanctions and compliance risks. The shift is pushing some traders toward stablecoins for cross-border settlement, with USDT increasingly used in emerging-market trade payments. The broader stablecoin sector has surpassed a $300 billion market capitalization, while onchain volume has topped $4 trillion and accounts for about 30% of overall onchain activity.