Cryptoupdated 1h ago3 min read
BIS Study Finds Higher Bank Deposit Rates Slow USDC Stablecoin Adoption Growth
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Higher deposit rates predict slower stablecoin adoption, BIS study finds. Seven of the ten largest US banks have tested stablecoins or tokenized deposits.
Rates slow stablecoin growth
A Bank for International Settlements-linked study says higher interest rates on bank deposits act as a direct brake on the pace of stablecoin adoption, with the paper finding notably higher sensitivity in USD Coin (USDC). The study used weekly data from the US market collected between January 2019 and June 2025, and it reported that in typical ten-week periods the total capitalization of the stablecoin sector grew around 15%. The study said that an increase of only one basis point in the remuneration of bank savings reduced that growth rate to around 12% in its baseline estimates, and it estimated the growth rate could contract further to around 6% under models designed to isolate direct causes and effects.
The paper also described a discontinuous pass-through pattern, saying lending institutions barely nudged up savings account rates until official rates for federal funds surpassed the 3% threshold. The study concluded that banks can retain capital that otherwise would seek liquidity within the crypto ecosystem, reopening the debate about the remuneration of these digital assets.
USDC vs USDT sensitivity
The study emphasized that the slowdown effect does not affect all issuers equally, and it said sensitivity to rising interest rates was considerably more pronounced for USD Coin (USDC) than for Tether (USDT). The paper attributed the difference to USDC’s operational, regulatory and commercial ties with investors and entities domiciled in the United States, and it said that when US bank interest-bearing accounts began offering higher yields, corporate and institutional holders of USDC had incentives to transfer part of their balance to insured bank deposits. By contrast, the study said USDT has a globally diversified user base with a strong presence in emerging economies, cross-border markets and international trading platforms, where the yield rate of a US commercial bank is less accessible or relevant than immediate liquidity.
The research also tied the policy mechanism to a specific cycle of monetary tightening, saying stablecoin issuers were prohibited or restricted from transferring yields earned on their reserves to end users. The paper’s framing placed deposit pricing as a lever that modulates the speed of adoption of distributed-ledger-based finance, while the authors’ results were based on a sample that covered only one high-interest-rate cycle.
Adoption accelerates, stakes rise
A separate report commissioned by Coinbase said stablecoin transfers quadruple to $891B as US banks expand adoption, and it reported that stablecoins moved more than $400 million an hour in adjusted transfer volume during the third quarter of 2026. The report also said 73% of screened stablecoin transfer volume occurred outside US banking hours, including nights, weekends and holidays, while it identified 293 million blockchain addresses holding stablecoins. The same report estimated that moving 80% of international transactions onto stablecoin networks could add $155 billion to global GDP annually and free up roughly $3 trillion in liquidity currently held by banks for cross-border payments.
In Canada, Chainalysis data presented in another report said stablecoins already represent 44% of the volume of cryptocurrency trading in order books denominated in Canadian dollars, up from 30% a year earlier. The Canada analysis said remittance-sized transfers from Canada to India, China, and the Philippines rose 141% year over year, totaling USD 2.360 billion, and it warned that rising demand for dollar-backed stablecoins could divert investment from Canadian debt.