The BIS report essentially sentenced stablecoins to death: they are not money, but an ETF, and could also undermine bank lending.

The Bank for International Settlements stated in its 2026 Annual Economic Report that stablecoins still have significant deficiencies in core monetary attributes such as singleness, resilience, interoperability, and integrity. Their prices may deviate from the pegged asset, and redemptions face friction, making them more like ETF shares rather than genuine payment instruments. The report estimates that even if the stablecoin market expands to between $1 trillion and $3 trillion, the net impact on economic output would remain limited, and it could raise banks’ funding costs while weakening credit supply. The report also warns that emerging markets may experience “stablecoin dollarization,” in which residents hold dollar stablecoins as a store of value, thereby affecting capital flows and weakening monetary sovereignty. The BIS once again proposed a tokenized “Unified Ledger” system anchored by central bank money as a stable coin