Stablecoins on the rise: A risk for financial stability? 

By Caroline Roulet, OECD Economics Department.

Stablecoins are a type of crypto-asset designed to maintain a stable value by anchoring to a reference asset (often US Treasury bills). They offer convertibility on demand at par, and fee-free, immediate and pseudonymous transactions, making them an attractive means of payment, especially across borders. The market value of stablecoins has risen rapidly, with two issuers that mainly rely on USD-denominated collateral accounting for almost 90% of the global market capitalisation (Figure 1). Stablecoins are still only a small part of financial markets, but as they expand and become more intertwined with traditional finance they pose non-negligible risks to financial stability and important challenges for financial regulation and monetary policy.

As discussed in the latest OECD Economic Outlook the total value of payments using stablecoins surpassed that of major traditional digital payment providers in 2024-25 (Figure 2, Panel A). Currently, stablecoins are mainly used to settle trades in other crypto-assets, and now account for around 80% of all trades on crypto-asset platforms (ECB, 2025), although usage for other payments by corporates and households has begun to rise.

Though less risky than crypto-assets as a whole, some stablecoins have experienced significant price volatility, particularly those that are not fiat-collateralised (i.e. not fully backed by assets denominated in currency terms, such as US Treasury bills or bank deposits). Fiat-collateralised stablecoins have been much more stable, but still often deviate from par in secondary markets (Aldasoro et al, 2025). In contrast to the majority of bank deposits, stablecoins are typically uninsured. Variation in the value of their backing assets (and subsequent deviations of stablecoins’ market value from their original face value) can therefore prompt holders to request redemptions, with ensuing risks of liquidity shortages and fire sales of collateral.

The expansion of stablecoins raises financial stability risks. One concern is the potential effects on the pricing and operation of segments of critical funding markets, such as sovereign debt markets (Aldasoro et al., 2025), as stablecoin issuers are now major holders of US Treasury bills (Figure 2, Panel B). Investor inflows into stablecoins and asset sales to meet redemptions could thus affect short-term bond yields and hence monetary policy transmission. Stablecoin issuers’ generation of additional income through reverse repos (lending securities to traditional financial intermediaries who then pledge them as collateral) may also add to potential strains on repo market liquidity at times of stress.

Figure 2. Stablecoin transactions are expanding and holdings of US Treasury bills are sizeable

Note: In Panel A, Visa and Mastercard payments primarily reflect settlements for goods and services, while stablecoins have been primarily used so far to settle trades in other crypto-assets. Payments data (Gross Dollar Volume, GVD) for Mastercard in 2025 is available through Q3, with Q4 estimated using the average GDV from the first three quarters. Panel B reports holdings of US T-bills by selected domestic and foreign holders and major stablecoins issuers (Tether and USD Coin) as of 2025 Q3.
Source: Artemis Analytics; Tether and USD Coin transparency reports; US Federal Reserve; US Department of the Treasury; Visa and Mastercard annual reports; and OECD calculations.

The expansion of stablecoins may also pose risks to banks. Companies with crypto-related business models, including stablecoin issuers, also hold bank deposits (as required by regulation in some jurisdictions). This could prove an unstable deposit base if stablecoin issuers suddenly withdraw funds to meet liquidity needs (ECB 2025), potentially disrupting bank credit availability.

The growing adoption and use of stablecoins, alongside their ability to circulate freely across borders, poses economic policy challenges. In emerging-market economies, the use of foreign‑currency denominated stablecoins could raise exchange rate volatility at times of stress and enable foreign exchange regulations to be bypassed. This would make standard indicators of capital outflows harder to interpret. More broadly, usage of foreign currency denominated stablecoins could weaken the control of monetary conditions by domestic central banks (BIS, 2025; Rey, 2025). The potential use of stablecoins for illicit activities is a further concern, raising challenges for the enforcement of anti‑money laundering and financing of terrorism regulations.

Many countries have begun to develop tailored regulations relating to stablecoins, and crypto-assets more generally. Prominent recent examples include the GENIUS Act in the United States (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, enacted in July 2025) and the MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) Regulation in the European Union, which became effective from December 2024. However, regulatory approaches differ across countries and significant gaps and inconsistencies remain (FSB, 2025). The limited oversight of cross-border transactions is a key challenge, potentially hampering responses to systemic risks and encouraging regulatory arbitrage. The rapid growth of the stablecoin market, and the impact stablecoin usage may have on other asset markets, highlights the need for enhanced international cooperation to ensure effective regulation, supervision, and oversight of stablecoins in all jurisdictions.

REFERENCES

ECB (2025), “Just another crypto boom? Mind the blind spots”, Financial Stability Review, May, European Central Bank.

Aldasoro, I., M. Aquilina, U. Lewrick, and S. Lim (2025), “Stablecoin growth – policy challenges and approaches,” BIS Bulletins 108, Bank for International Settlements.

BIS (2025), Annual Economic Report, Chapter 3 “The next-generation monetary and financial system”, June, Bank for International Settlements.

FSB (2025), Thematic Review on FSB Global Regulatory Framework for Crypto-asset Activities, Financial Stability Board, Geneva. Rey, H. (2025), “Stablecoins, tokens, and global dominance”, IMF Finance and Development magazine, September.

Rey, H. (2025), “Stablecoins, tokens, and global dominance”, IMF Finance and Development magazine, September.