Banks may have more influence over stablecoin growth than many crypto investors realize.
A new Bank for International Settlements (BIS) study suggests that even a tiny increase in U.S. bank deposit rates can slow stablecoin expansion.
Researchers found that a 0.01 percentage-point increase in deposit rates was associated with roughly a 3 percentage-point drop in stablecoin market-cap growth over 10 weeks. The effect was stronger for USDC than USDT. The study used U.S. data from 2019 to June 2025.
Why does this matter?
Stablecoins offer a convenient way to hold dollar value and move money across crypto markets, but most don't pay holders interest. If banks start offering better returns on deposits, some people may have less reason to keep their money in stablecoins.
And here's the interesting part: major banks still hold enormous amounts of customer deposits while paying little or no interest on many accounts. That leaves room for competition over where people choose to keep their money.
Personally, I think this highlights something important: stablecoin adoption isn't driven by crypto demand alone. Traditional banking rates can influence it too.
But there's a distinction worth remembering. The study links higher deposit rates to slower stablecoin growth; it doesn't prove that bank deposits or lending automatically fall when stablecoins grow.
The bigger question is whether stablecoins can keep expanding as banks compete harder for depositors — and whether future yield-bearing stablecoins change that equation.
$BTC #BTC Price Analysis# #Macro Insights# $ETH
A new Bank for International Settlements (BIS) study suggests that even a tiny increase in U.S. bank deposit rates can slow stablecoin expansion.
Researchers found that a 0.01 percentage-point increase in deposit rates was associated with roughly a 3 percentage-point drop in stablecoin market-cap growth over 10 weeks. The effect was stronger for USDC than USDT. The study used U.S. data from 2019 to June 2025.
Why does this matter?
Stablecoins offer a convenient way to hold dollar value and move money across crypto markets, but most don't pay holders interest. If banks start offering better returns on deposits, some people may have less reason to keep their money in stablecoins.
And here's the interesting part: major banks still hold enormous amounts of customer deposits while paying little or no interest on many accounts. That leaves room for competition over where people choose to keep their money.
Personally, I think this highlights something important: stablecoin adoption isn't driven by crypto demand alone. Traditional banking rates can influence it too.
But there's a distinction worth remembering. The study links higher deposit rates to slower stablecoin growth; it doesn't prove that bank deposits or lending automatically fall when stablecoins grow.
The bigger question is whether stablecoins can keep expanding as banks compete harder for depositors — and whether future yield-bearing stablecoins change that equation.
$BTC #BTC Price Analysis# #Macro Insights# $ETH