Blockchain Association Pushes Back on Stablecoin Deposit Flight Claims
Key Takeaways
- •Community banks held 13% of U.S. domestic deposits in 2023, while noncommunity banks held 87%, according to the association’s FDIC-based figures.
- •U.S. bank deposits increased by $800.2 billion from the third quarter of 2025 through the first quarter of 2026.
- •CRA International found no statistically significant connection between stablecoin growth and community bank deposit outflows.
- •Under realistic assumptions, CRA estimated the effect of stablecoin growth on community bank deposits at below 1%.
- •The Blockchain Association said deposit shifts toward large banks and higher-yield products began well before crypto and do not show a stablecoin-driven collapse in bank balances.
Blockchain Association says community banks held only 13% of U.S. domestic deposits in 2023, versus 87% for noncommunity banks.
U.S. bank deposits rose $800.2 billion across Q3 2025 through Q1 2026 despite rapid stablecoin market growth.
CRA International found stablecoin growth had no significant link to community bank outflows, with realistic effects below 1%.
Big banks have warned Congress that stablecoins could pull deposits away from community banks, but Blockchain Association points to FDIC data and recent deposit growth. According to the group, noncommunity banks held at least 87% of U.S. domestic deposits in 2023, while community banks held 13%, as lawmakers debated stablecoin rewards and deposit flight.
Those arguments matter because Congress is still weighing how to regulate stablecoin rewards and related banking activity, and deposit shifts are central to that debate. Blockchain Association’s response is meant to show that deposit concentration predates crypto and that the industry data it cites does not show a broad stablecoin-driven drain on bank balances.
Big Banks Already Hold Most Deposits
The association said JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America alone held more than 1.5 times community banks’ combined deposit share. It also said the shift toward megabanks has continued for decades.
The group then cited deposit figures following the GENIUS Act, which was signed on July 18, 2025. U.S. bank deposits grew by $92.2 billion in the third quarter of 2025 and then rose another $318.3 billion in the fourth quarter.
Growth continued into 2026, with deposits increasing $389.7 billion during the first quarter. According to the association, the quarterly increases accelerated after the law took effect.
Stablecoin Growth Meets Deposit Data
Blockchain Association also noted that U.S. exchanges have offered rewards on USDC for more than four years. The group said current law already permits those rewards and that community bank deposits did not collapse during that period.
It cited CRA International research covering 2019 through 2025, which found no statistically significant link between stablecoin growth and community bank deposit outflows. Under unlikely worst-case assumptions, the analysis estimated the impact below 7%.
Under realistic conditions, the estimated effect remained below 1%. The analysis also found that stablecoin market capitalization and community bank deposits generally moved in the same direction.
Other Products Compete for Deposits
The association also compared stablecoins with money market funds, Treasury bills and brokered CDs. Those products have offered higher yields than checking accounts for years, and the group said higher yields have not emptied checking accounts.
It said deposit shifts toward megabank treasury platforms and money-market sweep products began decades before crypto. The association said the U.S. stablecoin market stood near $300 billion and that available deposit data does not show a decline tied to stablecoin growth.
The group’s comments were shared in a post on X: https://x.com/BlockchainAssn/status/2094422656929907011?s=20
