This IMF report is pretty harsh—it directly treats stablecoins as a crisis amplifier. The example of Bolivia’s USDT, used as an exchange-rate anchor, is definitely striking.

Crypto news flash, according to Digital Asset: On July 10, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a research report stating that USD-pegged stablecoins can accelerate capital flows from local-currency holdings to USD-denominated assets during crises, triggering systemic risks similar to bank runs. Simulation data show that in economies where stablecoins are widely adopted, the probability of a crisis increases from 3.9% to 7.4%, and in the case of the largest exchange-rate deviations, residents’ welfare declines by up to 6.3%. The report cites Bolivia as an example, noting that since the country opened digital asset trading in 2024, the USDT price has become a key reference indicator for the parallel market’s dollar exchange rate. The IMF recommends that regulators adopt macroprudential measures such as temporary limits on large transactions and panic sell-offs.