According to The Block, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) pointed out in its “2026 Annual Economic Report” that current stablecoins do not meet monetary standards in terms of singularity, resilience, interoperability, and integrity, and their operational model is closer to ETFs rather than payment tools.
The report estimates that even if the market value of stablecoins expands to between $1 trillion and $3 trillion, the net effect on economic output will still be slightly negative, while also exacerbating banks’ financing pressures and weakening credit capacity. The BIS also warned of the risk of “stablecoin dollarization” in emerging economies, which could erode their monetary sovereignty.
The report suggests using central bank currencies as a benchmark to construct a “unified ledger” that encompasses tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank currencies as an alternative, and uses the Project Agora cross-border payment prototype as a feasibility proof.