The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) research team released Working Paper No. 1370, analyzing data on foreign-currency deposits and inflows of USD-pegged stablecoins across more than 130 economies. It found that USD stablecoins are spreading through “digital dollarization” mechanisms in emerging markets, and that stablecoin inflows show almost no response to capital controls and foreign-exchange restrictions because “part of the stablecoin circulation remains outside the regulatory perimeter.”
BIS Working Paper No. 1370: Stablecoin Inflows React Almost Not at All to Capital Controls
According to BIS Working Paper No. 1370, the research involves a comparative analysis of data on foreign-currency deposits and inflows of USD-pegged stablecoins covering more than 130 economies. The research found that during periods of macroeconomic stress (such as domestic currency depreciation or rising inflation), both traditional foreign-currency deposits and stablecoin inflows increase; but the key difference is that traditional foreign-currency deposits flow through bank channels, allowing governments to manage them via exchange-rate restrictions or foreign-exchange quotas, whereas stablecoins are transmitted on-chain, allowing residents to convert funds to USDT or USDC instantly without going through bank foreign-exchange windows.
BIS researchers noted in the paper that this means governments’ ability to control stablecoins may be weaker than with traditional foreign-currency deposits. The research also found that foreign-currency deposits themselves have little impact on the transmission of monetary policy, but countries with higher levels of foreign-currency deposits face greater inflation risk.
Stablecoin Growth Up 81% in the First Half; USDC/USDT First Surpass Bitcoin
On the level of real-world cases, the IMF’s recent analysis of Nigeria indicates that local households and small businesses widely use USD-pegged stablecoins for cross-border payments, remittances, and USD asset allocation. Stablecoins reduce the cost and time of cross-border transfers while moving more financial activity out of traditional banking channels.
Adoption is even more evident in Latin America: a Bitso Business report said that in the first half of 2026, the year-over-year growth rate of stablecoin payment transaction volume was 81%. Circle’s USDC and Tether’s USDT accounted for 40% of all cryptocurrency purchase volume in Latin America, first surpassing Bitcoin.
Global Stablecoin Market Cap Rises to $309.7 Billion
According to DefiLlama data, the global stablecoin market cap has risen to about $309.7 billion, up nearly 20% from $260 billion a year earlier. This suggests stablecoins are becoming part of daily financial infrastructure in emerging markets, rather than being limited to a transaction medium within the crypto industry.
BIS notes in the paper that the regulatory framework for traditional banks and foreign-currency deposits may have diminishing effects in tokenized financial systems, and proposes the following three policy tools:
On-chain liquidity monitoring: Set up an instant tracking mechanism for stablecoin on-chain fund flows
Transparent reserve disclosure mechanism for stablecoin issuers: Require issuers such as USDT and USDC to regularly disclose details of reserve assets
Cross-border regulatory coordination: Establish an international regulatory cooperation framework for cross-border stablecoin flows
FAQ
What are the main research findings of BIS Working Paper No. 1370?
According to BIS Working Paper No. 1370, after analyzing data from 130-plus economies, the research found that inflows of USD stablecoins show almost no reaction to capital controls and foreign-exchange restrictions because part of the stablecoin circulation remains outside the regulatory perimeter, and on-chain transmission bypasses bank foreign-exchange channels.
What is the current global stablecoin market cap?
According to DefiLlama data, the global stablecoin market cap has risen to about $309.7 billion, up nearly 20% from $260 billion a year earlier.
What does Bitso Business’s Latin America stablecoin payment data show?
According to Bitso Business’s report, in the first half of 2026, the year-over-year growth rate of stablecoin payment transaction volume was 81%; USDC and USDT accounted for 40% of all cryptocurrency purchase volume in Latin America, first surpassing Bitcoin.
