Stablecoins Don’t Meet Core Requirements Of Money, BIS Says

The BIS General Manager Pablo Hernández de Cos told a Bank of Japan seminar (Apr 20, 2026) that current stablecoins lack the “singleness” and “interoperability” needed to function as widely accepted money and may therefore remain a niche payment instrument. He said stablecoins could still improve cross-border payments but warned they pose risks to credit supply, financial stability and monetary/fiscal policy. Despite the caution, the stablecoin sector has seen resilience: combined market cap hit a new all-time high above $320 billion. The piece also notes Bitcoin trading around $75,000 (up ~6% over the past week). Market impact: BIS remarks increase regulatory and adoption uncertainty for stablecoins, potentially slowing wider payments rollout while sentiment toward major crypto (Bitcoin) remains positive in the near term.