The IMF published a new 56-page departmental paper, “Understanding Stablecoins,” on December 2, 2025, warning that large foreign‑currency stablecoins can accelerate currency substitution and erode monetary control in weaker economies. The report is available on the IMF site and is authored by Tobias Adrian and 15 co‑authors from the fund’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department.
The paper notes that global stablecoin capitalization now exceeds $300 billion. About 97% of outstanding tokens reference the U.S. dollar, concentrating influence in issuers such as Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC.