On/Off-Ramps Still the Bottleneck for Stablecoin Payments?

Been following the stablecoin space for a while now, particularly with an eye on real-world adoption for fintechs and merchants. We talk a lot about the efficiency of stablecoin rails themselves – instant settlement, low fees, global reach – and that's all true. But I keep coming back to the on/off-ramp experience.

It feels like the most significant hurdle right now is still the clunkiness, cost, and regulatory overhead associated with converting fiat to stablecoins and back again. For a merchant just trying to accept payments, or a fintech looking to integrate, the friction here often negates the benefits of the underlying stablecoin technology. It's not just about the technical integration; it's about the KYC/AML, the bank integrations, the liquidity provisioning. While we see some progress, I'm just not convinced it's scaling at the pace the core technology allows. Am I missing something fundamental here, or do others feel this is still the critical bottleneck? Push back.