Stablecoins currently pose limited disruption to banks, according to Moody’s Investors Service, citing regulatory limits and strong existing payment systems in the US.
Market capitalisation for stablecoins has surpassed $300 billion, but adoption remains relatively early despite growing use in payments, cross-border transactions, and onchain finance.
“So far, the use of stablecoins remains limited, but their market capitalisation exceeded $300 billion at the end of last year,”
Said Moody’s associate vice president Abhi Srivastava.
US regulations preventing stablecoins from offering yield mean they are unlikely to replace traditional bank deposits at scale in the near term.
However, Moody’s warns that as stablecoins and tokenised real-world assets expand, banks could face deposit outflows and reduced lending capacity over time.
Debate around yield-bearing stablecoins remains a key sticking point in the proposed Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, which has stalled amid opposition from crypto firms and banking groups.
The outcome of the legislation could shape whether stablecoins remain complementary to banks or evolve into a more direct competitive threat in the longer term.