BIS General Manager Pablo Hernández de Cos has highlighted the need for international coordination on stablecoin regulation, noting their current limited commercial use and potential policy challenges. Despite a $315 billion market cap and $75.6 trillion in annual transaction volume, stablecoins primarily serve on-chain trading and face issues of ‘singleness’ and interoperability.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has called for greater global cooperation on stablecoin frameworks. General Manager **Pablo Hernández de Cos** stated that despite recording $75.6 trillion in total transaction volume over the past year, the stablecoin market cap of roughly $315 billion remains small compared to the $8 trillion held in U.S. bank deposits.
He noted that stablecoins have found limited commercial use, such as for firms’ payments within global value chains. Instead, they have primarily served for on-chain trading within the crypto ecosystem. Hernández de Cos warned that divergent regulations across jurisdictions pose a challenge.
The BIS analysis identified underlying concerns with the current stablecoin market. It highlighted a ‘singleness’ issue that makes them unstable during periods of stress, alongside ‘interoperability’ problems that prevent them from functioning as universally accepted money. The institution stated that without a strong framework, stablecoins inject risks to banks, stability, policy control, and financial integrity.
Hernández de Cos specifically commented on the largest dollar-pegged stablecoins. In this respect, they currently operate more like exchange-traded funds than like money. This assessment comes as jurisdictions like Japan and the United States advance their own regulatory approaches.
Japan amended its Payment Services Act in 2022 to create a legal framework for stablecoins and launched the world’s first yen-pegged stablecoin in October 2025. The United States passed the GENIUS Act in 2025 to provide a framework for stablecoins. With Circle’s CEO Jeremy Allaire highlighting China’s plan to launch a yuan-backed stablecoin within 3-5 years, the BIS’s push for a coordinated global framework appears timely.
