Standard Chartered Clients Favor Stablecoins Over Bitcoin, Says Research Head

Clients of the American branch of Standard Chartered are showing more interest in stablecoins than in Bitcoin, according to Jeffrey Kendrick, head of the bank’s digital asset research division, as reported by The Block.

The bank revealed that 90% of discussions last week focused on stablecoins, with meetings held in Washington, New York, and Boston involving both clients and officials.

Participants explored the impact of these assets on the economy following the rise of the stablecoin market to $750 billion. Currently, the market capitalization of this segment is approximately $263 billion, as per CoinGecko.

Kendrick believes that this projected figure will be reached by the end of 2026. At that point, stablecoins will begin to influence traditional financial assets and policies. Specifically, an increased demand for U.S. treasury bills will be necessary to back stablecoins, which could significantly alter the structure of national debt and demand for dollars, the expert emphasized.

These discussions coincided with the examination of bills aimed at regulating the industry, particularly stablecoins (GENIUS Act).

On July 15, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected three cryptocurrency-related bills. However, following a statement from President Donald Trump about a meeting with congress members in the Oval Office, a new schedule for meetings was proposed. Consideration of the projects is set to commence on July 16.

Kendrick views that after the passage of the GENIUS Act, stablecoins are likely to be used for transactions in developed nations. Corporations will benefit from faster and cheaper transfers, while banks and municipalities will have the ability to issue their own assets.

He also noted that in developing countries, individuals are purchasing stablecoins as a means of saving in dollars, which helps protect their assets against the depreciation of local currencies.

Kendrick warned that significant outflows of funds through stablecoins could pose challenges for certain countries, making it harder for them to control exchange rates and sustain their banking systems.

The expert further mentioned the CLARITY Act, suggesting that it could serve as a regulatory framework for digital assets and goods, significantly impacting the RWA market. The initiative aims to establish guidelines for the tokenization of assets, ranging from real estate to equities, thereby expanding the scope of DeFi protocols like Aave, Kendrick concluded.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan, the largest bank in the U.S., is already analyzing publicly traded stablecoins pegged to the dollar, CNBC reported. Although CEO Jamie Dimon expressed skepticism about their necessity, he acknowledged, “I don’t see the need for them instead of traditional payments. But we are obliged to investigate this.”

He mentioned that the motivation stems from the pressure exerted by fintech competitors. “They are smart and want to create banking accounts and payment systems. We cannot afford to overlook this,” he explained.

The bank is currently testing the JPMD token on the Base blockchain, supported by the American exchange Coinbase. The token aims to simplify transactions among JPMorgan’s institutional clients.

Experts have previously cautioned about a bubble in the stablecoin market, suggesting that the successful listing of Circle could trigger a wave of IPOs from imitation companies.

Later, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) stated that stablecoins do not meet the three key standards of being «robust,» «elastic,» and «integral.»