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Clients of the American division of Standard Chartered Bank are showing more interest in stablecoins than in Bitcoin. This was stated byĀ Jeffrey Kendrick, Head of Digital Asset Research at the bank, according toĀ The Block.
According to the bank, around 90% of recent client discussions were focused on stablecoins. Last week, meetings were held inĀ Washington, D.C., New York, and BostonĀ with clients and regulators.
Participants discussed the potential economic impact of stablecoins, anticipating growth in the market toĀ $750 billion. As of now, the segment is valued at aboutĀ $263 billion, according toĀ CoinGecko.
Kendrick believes the $750 billion projection could be reached by the end of 2026. At that point, stablecoins may begin to influence traditional financial markets and monetary policy. In particular, a larger issuance of U.S.Ā Treasury billsĀ may be required to back stablecoins, which could alter the structure of national debt and affect the global demand for the U.S. dollar, he emphasized.
The discussions coincided with the U.S. government's active review of legislation to regulate the industryāmost notably theĀ GENIUS Act, focused on stablecoins.
OnĀ July 15, theĀ U.S. House of RepresentativesĀ rejected three cryptocurrency-related bills. However, following news ofĀ President Donald Trump'sĀ Oval Office meeting with House members, a new vote schedule was proposed. Consideration of the bills is now set to begin onĀ July 16.
According to Kendrick, once legislation like the GENIUS Act is passed in developed countries, stablecoins will likely enter widespread use for payments. Corporations will benefit from faster and cheaper transactions, while banks and municipalities could begin issuing their own digital assets.
He also noted that in developing countries, consumers often purchase stablecoins to save in dollarsāoffering protection from the devaluation of local currencies.
However, Kendrick warned that a large outflow of funds via stablecoins could create challenges for some economies, making it more difficult to manage exchange rates and preserve banking system stability.
Kendrick also discussed theĀ CLARITY Act, which he believes could serve as a regulatory blueprint for digital assets and commodities. One of its key impacts, he said, would be on theĀ RWA (Real World Asset) market.
The legislation aims to set a framework for theĀ tokenizationĀ of assets ranging from real estate to stocks, which would expand the use ofĀ DeFi protocolsĀ likeĀ Aave, he added.
JPMorgan, the largest bank in the U.S., is currently exploringĀ publicly traded, dollar-pegged stablecoins, according toĀ CNBC. Despite previous skepticism, CEOĀ Jamie DimonĀ acknowledged the shift in view:
āI donāt understand why they are needed in place of normal payments. But we are obliged to investigate it.ā
Dimon explained that the move comes amid increased competition from fintech firms:
āThey are smart, they want to build bank accounts and payment systems. We canāt miss that.ā
JPMorgan is currently testing itsĀ JPMDĀ stablecoin on theĀ Base blockchain, a network supported by U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchangeĀ Coinbase. Designed to facilitate settlements among institutional clients, the coin may become a key piece in JPMorganās emerging blockchain infrastructure.
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