Sweden's Riksbank published a Staff Memo analysing the rise of stablecoins and the policy questions they raise, concluding that while stablecoins could improve payments by making them faster and programmable, their growth must not undermine financial stability, consumer protection and trust in money, and that managing the risks will require strong international cooperation. The memo reflects the authors’ views and is not an official Riksbank position. The analysis notes rapid market expansion from USD 4 billion in January 2020 to USD 272 billion in October 2025, with 99% of stablecoins pegged to the US dollar. While stablecoins are still mainly used in crypto trading and decentralised finance, the memo points to emerging use cases such as cross-border payments and settlement for tokenised assets, alongside risks including dollarisation pressures, dependence on foreign providers and infrastructure, redemption runs that could force fire sales of backing assets, potential impacts on banks’ funding stability, illicit use, and a lack of “singleness of money” if stablecoins trade at discounts. It also summarises regulatory responses including Financial Stability Board guidelines, the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation requirements for registration, full backing and free immediate redemption at par, and the US GENIUS Act framework, and it highlights open questions for central banks on stablecoin issuers’ access to settlement systems, central bank money as backing and liquidity backstops.

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