Swiss Central Bank: Stablecoins Break Rate Transmission in Three Ways

SNB Governing Board member Petra Tschudin said at a Zurich conference on September 30 that large-scale stablecoin adoption structurally weakens monetary policy transmission. Stablecoin market cap reached about $316 billion versus under $5 billion in 2020, with monthly on-chain volume surpassing the US ACH network in February 2026.

• Stablecoin market cap grew from under $5B in 2020 to ~$316B by mid-2026
• Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC command over 80% of supply
• Monthly on-chain stablecoin volume first topped the US ACH network in February 2026
• A March 2026 ECB paper linked stablecoin exposure to weaker bank rate response