The European Central Bank has once again issued a sharp warning about the rising risks posed by stablecoins — and placed the technology at the center of a broader financial-stability debate in Europe.
According to the ECB, large-scale adoption of stablecoins could lead to significant outflows from traditional bank deposits, as private customers move money into digital tokens they perceive as safe and liquid. Such a shift would undermine a key funding pillar of European banks — and could, in an extreme case, destabilize parts of the financial system.
The second major risk concerns confidence. If a large stablecoin were to face a sudden wave of withdrawals, the required asset sales could drain reserves and create turbulence far beyond the crypto sector. Even highly liquid markets like U.S. Treasuries could come under pressure if reserves had to be unwound quickly.
Although the total market value of stablecoins remains modest — below 300 billion US dollars — their relevance is already immense: roughly 80 percent of all centrally cleared crypto transactions rely on stablecoins. The ECB argues that this makes them system-relevant, long before they reach the size of traditional financial instruments.
For investors, banks and regulators, the message is clear: stablecoins may promise stability, but without robust regulation they can just as easily become a destabilizing force. The ECB urges policymakers to accelerate oversight frameworks to ensure that digital assets do not evolve faster than the safeguards meant to contain their risks.
SK
