Skip to content
Article

The Stablecoin Breakout

May 30, 2025 | 11 minutes reading time | By Jeffrey Kutler and Michael Shashoua

What was once a small crypto-asset niche is taking on an air of inevitability. Major banks are weighing strategic options as regulatory frameworks take shape, and financial stability may face a test.

On February 25 at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., in a public conversation with club chairman David Rubenstein, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan delved briefly into the subject of stablecoins. If legally permitted, he said, “We’ll go into that business,” presumably issuing a “Bank of America coin,” in practice “no different than a money market fund with check access, no different than a bank account, really.”

In retrospect, Moynihan’s seemingly offhand digression was more like a watershed, or part of one.

Momentum is evident in the growth of the market-leading Tether USDT – not available in the United States, though like most stablecoins denominated in dollars – and Circle USDC; pending U.S. legislation cheered on by the White House (a Trump family venture, World Liberty Financial, is touting its own USD1 stablecoin); and Bank of America and its top-tier peers exploring a joint offering similar to the Zelle person-to-person payment service.

Timothy Massad: Underline “stable.”

“Stablecoins are the most useful application of blockchain and digital asset technology to date,” Timothy Massad, director of the Digital Assets...

to access this content.

Become a GARP Member to Unlock Exclusive Risk Insights and More!

  • Access timely articles, thought leadership, and an archive of on-demand webcasts, event recordings, and Chapter meeting presentations in our Member Multimedia Library.
  • Get regulatory capital data for global and regional banks in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa through our Pillar 3+ data analytics platform from the GARP Benchmarking Initiative (GBI®).
  • Gain priority registration to attend any worldwide Chapter meeting for free, as well as preferential rates for GARP events and access to local members-only dinners and professional networking opportunities.
  • Receive comprehensive access via our digital GARP Learning platform to the latest curriculum readings, videos, end of chapter practice questions, and more for the program(s) of which you passed the exam(s).

Topics: Digital Assets

Trending

Event

Evolution of Digital Assets and Risk Management Practices

May 15

New York: Digital assets experienced two significant waves of accelera...

Financial Markets, Digital Assets
View Event
Article Members Only

The Stablecoin Breakout

May 30

What was once a small crypto-asset niche is taking on an air of inevit...

Digital Assets
Read Article