The BdE warns that widespread adoption of stablecoins could lead to banking disintermediation.
The global stablecoin market has already exceeded $320 billion.
The Bank of Spain has launched a clear “warning signal” about the rapid growth of stablecoins. In its Spring 2026 Financial Stability Report, the institution warns that global stablecoins, especially multiple issuance ones, such as USDC or USDT for example, could amplify systemic risks in the financial system.
Although he BdE recognizes its potential To promote innovation in payments and digital finance, it focuses its concern on stablecoins that operate under schemes in different jurisdictions.
The market capitalization of these stablecoins already exceeds 320 billion dollarswith an overwhelming dominance of those denominated in dollars (between 98% and 99%), while those linked to the euro barely represent 0.2%, as reported by CriptoNoticias.
Widespread adoption of these instruments could intensify national currency substitution processes, increase international financial flows, and amplify the cross-border transmission of US monetary policy and, more generally, of shocks across jurisdictions.
Bank of Spain.
Assets such as Circle’s USDC or Paxos tokens—the only ones regulated under MiCA in Europe—allow the same fungible token is issued from entities in different countriessubject to different regulatory frameworks (MiCA in Europe and Genius Act in the United States).
This structure generates relevant complexities, according to the bank. In times of stress, an issuer may require transfers of reserves from another jurisdiction to accommodate massive redemptions.
If any authority blocks these flows, the impact would fall especially on European investors. According to the report, a massive adoption of these assets would accelerate the replacement of traditional bank depositscausing banking disintermediation, a reduction in credit capacity and less effectiveness in the transmission of monetary policy.
Furthermore, a crisis of confidence could quickly spread to the rest of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, conventional banking and even public debt markets, in the bank’s opinion.
The Bank of Spain’s main concern lies in international regulatory fragmentation, which makes orderly management of possible crises difficult and favors regulatory arbitration.
Both the BdE and the European Central Bank (ECB) have pointed out the dangers of these multi-emission schemes, even considering its prohibition.
The analysis reflects European caution in the face of the global enthusiasm with which stablecoins are consolidating themselves as a bridge between traditional finance and the digital world. The report places them among the main emerging risks of financial digitalization, along with cyber threats and the advance of artificial intelligence.
Looking to the future, if greater international regulatory coordination is not achieved, the Bank of Spain anticipates that the systemic risks could materializeespecially in financial stress scenarios.
This could force Europe to toughen its regulatory stance—even with possible prohibitions on multiple issuance schemes—or, on the contrary, to look for formulas that allow it to compete without compromising the stability of the continental financial system.