Stablecoin flows bypass capital controls, BIS says

A similar pattern has emerged in Latin America. Bitso Business reported an 81% year-over-year increase in stablecoin payment volume during the first half of 2026. Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC represented 40% of regional crypto purchases in 2025, overtaking Bitcoin for the first time.

Across the crypto market, stablecoin capitalization has risen to about $309.7 billion from roughly $260 billion a year earlier. The BIS study found that deposit and stablecoin dollarization tend to persist once established. Users do not simply replace foreign-currency deposits with stablecoins, the researchers said. The two channels can expand at the same time.

The BIS researchers warned that dollar-pegged tokens could weaken monetary sovereignty if households and companies increasingly store or transact in dollars outside regulated banks. The risk is more pronounced in emerging and developing economies where inflation and currency depreciation make dollar assets attractive. Stablecoins may present different policy problems because their use extends beyond savings into payments and trade settlement. As transactions leave the banking system, authorities lose access to information normally collected by regulated financial institutions, the study said.

The BIS has also separated privately issued stablecoins from tokenized bank money. Through Project Agorá, eight central banks and more than 40 regulated institutions have tested cross-border settlement using tokenized commercial-bank deposits and central-bank reserves, according to the institution's 2026 report.

Project Agorá keeps tokenized payments inside a regulated two-tier banking system. Stablecoins can circulate beyond it. For policymakers, the contrast explains why existing capital controls may struggle to contain digital dollarization, the BIS researchers said.