A stablecoin is a cryptoasset that aims to keep its value pegged to another asset, pool of assets or currency. As of September 2025, the market capitalization (total volume in circulation times unitary price) of the top ten stablecoins surpassed USD 220 billion1 . As the digital financial ecosystem developed, particularly after the 2008 financial crisis, so did the demand for a digital currency substitute, to serve as a medium of exchange in such environment. Stablecoins, to serve that role while not being legal tender, must maintain price stability relative to its underlying asset, but that steadiness has frequently been ruptured.
The increased adoption of stablecoins threatens to generate financial disintermediation and currency substitution. This, in turn, creates risks for financial stability and consumer protection: their backing is not as solid and their risks are not as mitigated as disclosed, as can be seen in the Tether 2018 crisis and subsequent legal consequences2 . Authorities have to make sure the public receives comprehensive, clear information on stablecoins, for they are not a digital substitute for central bank currency.
1. CoinMarketCap (2025), Top Stablecoin Tokens by Market Capitalization | CoinMarketCap, https://coinmarketcap.com/view/stablecoin/ (accessed on 19 August 2025).
2. Eichengreen, B. and G. Viswanath-Natraj (2022), “Stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies: Policy and Regulatory Challenges”, Asian Economic Papers, Vol. 21/1, pp. 29-46, https://doi.org/10.1162/ASEP_A_00843.
