ECB Finds Limited Risks from Stablecoins

ECB sees limited stablecoin risks due to low adoption and regulation.

Risks associated with stablecoins to financial stability are limited in the eurozone due to the low adoption of such coins and preventive regulation. This conclusion was reached by experts at the ECB.

Senne Aerts, Claudia Lambert, and Elisa Reinhold noted in a report that fiat-pegged tokens are scarcely used outside of crypto trading.

This application of “stablecoins” is currently the most widespread, unlike other uses such as cross-border payments.

ECB specialists acknowledged that a significant portion of stablecoin flows is international. However, they found no evidence linking these volumes to remittances.

Experts also highlighted the extremely limited use of coins in retail transactions (amounting to no more than $250). According to Visa data, their share in the total transaction value is about 0.5%.

“The use of stablecoins appears primarily driven by their role in the crypto-asset ecosystem, and it remains unclear whether these tokens will gain widespread adoption in other use cases,” the report’s authors stated.

US dollar-based “stablecoins” dominate the segment with an 84% share, but their connection to eurozone financial markets and impact on them are limited.

Even in the event of widespread stablecoin adoption, the EU’s regulatory framework, such as the MiCA rules, mitigates potential risks. As an example of specific restrictive measures, ECB specialists cited the prohibition of interest payments on stablecoins for issuers and digital asset service providers.

Similar initiatives have already been proposed by banking groups in the US, the report’s authors noted.

One of the main threats concerning “stablecoins” identified by the ECB is the possibility of regulatory arbitrage due to jurisdictions with insufficiently clear rules for assets. In this context, experts emphasized the importance of developing a corresponding global regulatory framework.

In the US, it has been estimated that the outflow of deposits from banks due to the widespread adoption of stablecoins could reach $6.6 trillion.