The head of the Bank for International Settlements said stablecoins lack reliability as a large-scale payment method and argued tokenised deposits are a stronger option that can use tokenisation while preserving the foundations of the monetary system. He said stablecoins may struggle to serve as everyday money and warned that shifts from bank deposits could raise banks’ funding costs and lift borrowing rates. He also cited interoperability and anti-money-laundering challenges and potential risks to monetary sovereignty.

Rising demand for stablecoins can help the U.S. government finance short-term Treasury bills but cannot address weak demand for long-term debt, with maturity the key constraint. U.S. stablecoin reserve rules tie funds to assets with maturities of 93 days or less, excluding newly issued 10-year and 30-year Treasuries. The Treasury has separately expanded long-term debt buybacks to support market liquidity, while evidence of a direct link to stablecoin reserves or bitcoin prices has not been confirmed.