US Bank: Interest-Bearing Stablecoin Could Disrupt $6 Trillion in Bank Deposits

BlockBeats News, January 15th, Bank of America CEO Moynihan warned that if the U.S. Congress does not restrict interest-bearing stablecoins, up to $6 trillion in deposits could move from banks, accounting for about 30% to 35% of total U.S. commercial bank deposits. Moynihan stated that stablecoins are structured like money market mutual funds, with reserves held in short-term instruments (such as U.S. Treasury bonds) rather than being used for bank lending as in traditional banks. In this model, funds are outside the traditional banking system, causing a contraction of the deposit base that banks rely on to support household and business lending.

This point is also the most controversial issue in the "CLARITY Act" (Crypto-Currency Market Structure Act). The bill includes a provision that prohibits digital asset service providers from paying interest or returns to users solely based on holding stablecoins. It is worth noting that the bill makes a distinction for activity-based rewards, allowing rewards tied to staking, providing liquidity, or offering collateral, while prohibiting rewards for idle balances in an account.