Catenaa, Friday, October 24, 2025- The head of the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency rejected claims that stablecoins could trigger sudden banking crises, calling such risks overstated and unlikely to occur without warning.
Jonathan Gould made the remarks at the American Bankers Association Annual Convention, emphasizing that any large deposit shifts tied to stablecoins would be gradual and observable.
Stablecoin markets have surged this year, climbing from $205 billion in January to over $307 billion in October.
Tether’s USDT leads the market with roughly 59% share, followed by Circle’s USDC.
Traditional banking groups, including the American Bankers Association and more than 50 state banking associations, have expressed concern over the GENIUS Act, a federal stablecoin law enacted in July, warning that yield-paying stablecoins could drain as much as $6.6 trillion from conventional banks.
The banking groups argue that such outflows could raise interest rates, limit loan availability, and increase borrowing costs.
They contend stablecoin issuers do not operate like banks and should not offer returns akin to interest-bearing deposits.
Gould countered that the OCC monitors activity closely and would respond to any significant threats. He suggested that stablecoins could provide smaller banks with new avenues to compete in digital payments, potentially challenging the dominance of large Wall Street institutions.
The OCC is preparing rulemakings under the GENIUS Act to ensure safe participation by banks. Meanwhile, crypto platforms, including Coinbase, Circle, Ripple, and Paxos, are pursuing federal charters to integrate stablecoins under OCC supervision.
Adoption of digital tokens continues to grow globally, with institutions like Standard Chartered warning of significant outflows from emerging-market banks, while Japan’s Sony applied to issue a US-regulated dollar-pegged token.
