$500 Billion Bank Run Incoming if Stablecoin Adoption Doesn't Slow: Standard Chartered

Are U.S. Bank Deposits at Risk of Being Siphoned Over to Crypto Ecosystem?

Geoff Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, thinks that by the end of 2008, as much as $500 billion could leave U.S. banks as customers opt to plug their capital into the crypto ecosystem for better opportunities, Bloomberg reports.

Kendrick views the easing of regulatory environments as a catalyst for crypto companies like Coinbase to begin taking on the traditional financial institutions and taking a bigger share of deposits.

The analyst says that a good indicator of how at-risk a bank is depends on how much of its total revenue comes from net interest income NIM, since deposits are the main driver of that revenue source.

This means that the smaller regional banks are the most at-risk to the trend, he argues.

Says Kendrick,

“We find that regional U.S. banks are more exposed on this measure than diversified banks and investment banks, which are least exposed.”

The analyst notes that each bank’s risk of losing income to stablecoins will “depend largely on its own response to the threat.” He also says that outside of deposits, U.S. banks face a threat from payment networks and other banking activities shifting toward stablecoins.

Read more: Fidelity Moves Deeper Into Crypto With Proprietary Stablecoin

According to data from Coingecko, the total market cap of USD-pegged stablecoins is now over the $300 billion mark and in an uptrend that looks seemingly unstoppable. Stablecoins processed trillions of dollars in value during 2025 – surpassing Visa by a long shot – with volumes rapidly climbing as their rails improve.

Stablecoin settlement usually occurs in seconds at low cost compared to legacy systems.

Standard Chartered’s Kendrick analyzed 19 banks, and determined that Huntington Bancshares Inc., M&T Bank Corp., Truist Financial Corp., and Citizens Financial Group Inc. – all regional banks – were the most at risk of stablecoin adoption.

FAQ ❓

• Why are US bank deposits at risk from crypto?
  Standard Chartered says customers may move funds to blockchains and stablecoins for faster, cheaper, and more attractive financial services.
• How much money could leave US banks?
  Analysts estimate up to $500 billion in US bank deposits could shift into the crypto ecosystem by 2028.
• Which banks are most exposed to this risk?
  Regional US banks are the most vulnerable because they rely heavily on deposit-driven net interest income.
• What is driving the rise of stablecoins?
  USD-pegged stablecoins are growing rapidly due to low-cost, near-instant settlement and trillions of dollars in transaction volume.