BIS Says Stablecoins Are the New Off-Ramp, Capital Controls Not Included 🚪

Researchers at the Bank for International Settlements concluded that dollar-backed stablecoins are enabling a new form of "digital dollarization" largely untouched by capital controls, particularly across emerging markets. The BIS study, which analyzed foreign-currency deposits and dollar-pegged stablecoin flows across more than 130 economies, found both tend to rise during periods of macroeconomic stress. Unlike traditional bank deposits, however, stablecoin flows showed little response to capital controls or other foreign-exchange restrictions. The researchers attributed the gap to the fact that "stablecoins are partly circulating outside the regulatory perimeter."

The study warned that stablecoins could still erode monetary sovereignty by allowing households and businesses to shift into dollars outside the banking system, especially in emerging markets with weak currencies or limited access to reliable financial services. Despite those risks, the authors found little evidence that deposit dollarization weakens the transmission of monetary policy, though countries with higher foreign-currency deposits faced a somewhat greater risk of elevated inflation. BIS said the findings suggest policymakers may need new tools to manage financial stability as stablecoins become more widely used, and that regulations designed for traditional banking and foreign-currency deposits may be less effective in a tokenized financial system.

The findings come as stablecoin use is growing in several emerging markets. In a recent analysis of Nigeria, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) found households and small businesses are using US dollar-pegged stablecoins for cross-border payments, remittances and access to dollar-denominated assets as inflation, currency depreciation and limited access to foreign exchange drive demand. The IMF said stablecoins have reduced the cost and time required to move money across borders while expanding access to financial services for users outside the traditional banking system. It also warned that widespread adoption of dollar-backed tokens could weaken monetary sovereignty by reducing demand for local currencies and shifting more financial activity outside conventional banking channels.

Stablecoin adoption has accelerated across Latin America as well. Bitso Business, the enterprise payments arm of crypto exchange Bitso, reported an 81% year-over-year increase in stablecoin payment volume during the first half of 2026. The company also said that Circle's USDC ($USDC) and Tether's USDT ($USDT) accounted for 40% of all crypto purchases in the region in 2025, surpassing $BTC for the first time, while stablecoin market capitalization has continued to expand.