There’s a battle occurring between crypto corporations and conventional banks over stablecoins, and Jefferies analysts stated that they may develop into a gentle drag on financial institution earnings as digital greenback use spreads.
Whereas stablecoins aren’t going to be an instantaneous existential risk to banks and are not prone to set off a sudden run on U.S. financial institution deposits, Jefferies analysts estimate banks may see 3% to five% core deposit runoff over the subsequent 5 years. This may possible increase funding prices and chip away at banks’ profitability.
“The intermediate-term threat of gradual deposit runoff from rising activity-based yield alternatives and funds use circumstances shouldn’t be ignored,” analysts led by David Chiaverini wrote in a report on Tuesday.
That “modest stress” situation would depart the typical financial institution dealing with a roughly 3% hit to earnings, the analysts stated.
It isn’t laborious to see why banks needs to be anxious about progress within the stablecoin, that are cryptocurrencies designed to keep up a steady worth and are sometimes pegged 1:1 to fiat currencies just like the U.S. greenback or the euro.
They’re already broadly utilized in crypto buying and selling, however for the reason that GENIUS Act handed final yr within the U.S., the market is increasing into funds, treasury administration, and cross-border transfers. Provide reached $305 billion on the finish of 2025, up 49% from a yr earlier, whereas adjusted stablecoin switch quantity rose to $11.6 trillion in 2025, the report stated.
The full market cap of the stablecoin sector presently sits round $314 billion, up from about $184 billion in 2022, in line with DefiLlama knowledge. And in line with Jefferies’ calculations, it may attain $800 billion to $1.15 trillion within the subsequent 5 years.
That progress issues for banks as a result of stablecoins can function digital money that strikes across the clock and plugs into decentralized finance platforms that supply yields above most financial institution accounts.
In reality, Financial institution of America CEO Brian Moynihan warned earlier this yr that the broader banking system may very well be harmed by the “chance of $6 trillion in deposits” transferring into stablecoins and stablecoin-linked merchandise providing yield-like returns.
The long-term risk
Jefferies’ core argument for stablecoins not being an instantaneous risk is that the brand new market construction invoice in U.S. guidelines, because it stands now, limits their attraction as easy financial savings merchandise, even because the invoice’s passage is unsure.
“CLARITY [act] would codify stablecoins as fee devices, quite than financial savings merchandise, by closing the ‘stablecoin yield loophole’ left open in GENIUS.”
The GENIUS Act, handed in July 2025, bars regulated stablecoin issuers from paying yield on to passive holders. That restriction reduces the prospect of a pointy near-term shift out of checking and financial savings accounts.
Additionally, banks and different conventional monetary giants are both launching their very own stablecoins or desirous about it to get forward of the competitors. Constancy Investments launched its first stablecoin, the Constancy Digital Greenback (FIDD). Financial institution of America’s Moynihan stated the financial institution will concern a stablecoin if Congress legalizes it, and Goldman CEO stated his financial institution has “an unlimited variety of folks on the agency extraordinarily targeted on tokenization, stablecoins.”
Nonetheless, the report argues the longer-term threat shouldn’t be ignored.
“We see the potential for activity-based rewards for stablecoin transactions, funds, and settlement, in addition to rewards from DeFi staking and lending protocols to pose an analogous threat to financial institution deposits.”
So which banks are extra uncovered to this threat?
In line with Jefferies, banks with bigger concentrations of retail and interest-bearing deposits seem extra uncovered than custody banks or giant establishments already investing in digital asset infrastructure.
“We view WTFC, FLG, WBS, EGBN and AX as probably the most uncovered banks below protection, on condition that they’ve the very best focus of retail and interest-bearing deposits.”
Learn extra: Stablecoin market hits $312 billion as banks, card networks embrace onchain {dollars}