Canadian P2P encryption activities have declined from a peak of 650,000, accompanied by a decrease in the number of student permits.

Canada's monthly peer-to-peer encryption activity has declined from a peak of nearly 650,000 transactions in the spring of 2024, in line with a decrease in the number of learning permits. Chainalysis links this trend to changes in the country's international student population.

• The study describes the correlation at a group level and does not prove that international students have caused a decline in trading volume.
• Government data shows that the number of newly arrived students from January to August 2026 decreased by 71% compared to the same period two years ago.
• Payment service providers claim that transfer costs have decreased, but local currency exchange remains another independent operational challenge.
• Philippine bank BPI has tested settling overseas income using stablecoins and deposited the funds into customers' bank accounts.

Chainalysis reported this relationship in a North American study published on October 14th, comparing encrypted transfer data within Canada with learning permit data from individuals from India, China, and the Philippines.

The trend of encrypted transactions in Canada P2P is consistent with the trend of learning permits.

Chainalysis The chart compares the monthly domestic P2P transactions with the number of license holders and the number of licenses issued in those three countries mentioned above. The transaction curve reached its peak in the spring of 2024, then declined, and since then, activities have fluctuated around a lower level.

The chart labels the license holders up to 2025, while the transaction sequence continues until 2026; therefore, the dates and scope covered by the population comparison are also part of this finding.

Chainalysis indicates that since mid-2021, these two indicators have shown synchronous changes during both growth and contraction phases. The company describes this correlation as 'related rather than causal'.

The explanation proposed focuses on immigrants maintaining cross-border financial connections and seeking lower-cost methods of transferring funds. The study did not identify which individual students used cryptocurrencies, nor did it indicate which alternative services those who stopped making domestic P2P transfers switched to.

Official data shows a decrease in the number of students going to Canada

Records from Canada's Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship show that from January to August 2026, a total of 65,240 new students arrived in Canada, which is a 71% decrease compared to the same period in 2024.

The data from this department distinguishes between newcomers and those who already hold permits. Its “number of arrivals” indicator does not include permit extensions or asylum applicants; if someone obtains both a study permit and a work permit in the same month, they are classified as students.

For the existing population, government data shows that as of the end of August 2026, there were 602,115 holders of study permits in Canada, compared to 1,032,950 in June 2024. Based on these figures, the total has decreased by approximately 41.7%.

The government's population statistics include students from all countries of origin, whereas the Chainalysis chart focuses only on three nationalities.

The Canadian Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Department stated that Canada introduced an annual cap on study permits in 2024 and announced that it will further reduce this cap in 2025 and 2026. The department has set a target of 155,000 new students arriving in 2026.

The cost of stablecoin transfers depends on the payment route.

Another payment study examined the costs of transferring funds through stablecoin funding services. On October 16, crypto.news reported that a comparison of remittance costs by Borderless.xyz showed that the median cost in the third quarter of 2026 was 1%.

The comparison uses the World Bank's global average of 6.36% for the third quarter of 2025. If applied to a payment of $200, the corresponding costs would be $2 and $12.72 respectively.

These numbers compare data from different reporting periods, as well as the median and average values. The observation results of Borderless do not guarantee that a Canadian remitter will necessarily receive such rates.

The reported fulfillment rates vary depending on the destination, ranging from 73% in Costa Rica SINPE to 98.6% in Mexico SPEI. These figures are based on the payment samples of that company.

An earlier second-quarter study by Borderless tracked 260 channels between 108 countries and 59 currencies. According to the same report, on the route of converting to the Brazilian real (USDT), the cheapest service provider changed 34 times within 88 observation days.

After the tokens are credited to the account, the conversion to local currency still requires further processing.

Gravity Team CEO Mā rti ņš Be ņķī tis stated in an interview on August 24 that local currency settlement remains a persistent limiting factor.

He said that payment companies use stablecoins to provide funding for exchanges, and then distribute the local currency to the recipients. Each destination has its own bank operating hours, compliance checks, transaction limits, and available liquidity.

Gravity Team It is estimated that the correspondent bank system may result in 20% to 40% of the monthly payment traffic being held in pre-funded accounts. The company stated that if operators maintain the already funded balance of local currency, stablecoins could reduce this idle capital.

Be ņķī tis reminds that a successful blockchain settlement does not mean that every stage of the remittance process has been completed.

He said, "After the tokens are credited to the account, local exchange and payment must still be completed."

The company's institutional business platform supports currencies including Philippine Peso, Mexican Peso, and US Dollar. Its daily fiat currency settlement services are still subject to the conditions of local banks.

BPI has tested using stablecoins for overseas income payments

In the Philippines, as reported on July 24th, the stablecoin settlement pilot project of BPI is aimed at freelancers, virtual assistants, and other individuals who receive income from overseas.

The bank collaborated with the digital clearing institution Meridian to establish a system that first processes incoming international payments, and then converts the funds into Philippine pesos before depositing them into customers' accounts.

BPI, President and CEO Jose Teodoro Limcaoco, stated that the project is aimed at enabling customers to generate overseas revenue more quickly, reduce costs, while maintaining safety standards.

The initial project covers salary payments and overseas income. BPI indicates that there are plans to serve more customers before the ASEAN Summit in November. The bank stated that the pilot will be carried out under the coordination of the Philippines Central Bank, and subsequent expansion will depend on regulatory safeguards, including consumer protection and requirements regarding the transparency of stablecoin reserves.