Crypto: India rejects stablecoins in favor of its CBDC!

While stablecoins have gained over $100 billion in 2025 to peak at $307 billion according to DefiLlama, India is moving in the opposite direction. The Central Bank of India (RBI) says that only a sovereign digital currency guarantees monetary stability. In a global landscape where CBDCs are struggling to establish themselves, New Delhi is erecting the e-rupee as a bulwark against the privatization of currency.

The official position of the Indian Central Bank

In its financial stability report published at the end of December 2025, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) adopts a clear line: CBDCs (central bank digital currencies) must be favored over stablecoins issued by private actors.

The institution considers CBDCs as the foundation of the future national and international monetary system. According to the reportsovereign digital currency is the only one capable of guaranteeing “the singularity of money and the integrity of the financial system”. She must stay “the ultimate settlement asset” and serve as “an anchor for confidence in the currency”.

These declarations are part of a vision of strong monetary sovereignty, in which any delegation of currency issuance to non-state entities would create imbalances.

The RBI also issues an explicit warning about the risks associated with stablecoins, which it perceives as a potential threat to financial stability, particularly during periods of market stress. She emphasizes that States must assess “carefully the risks associated with it” and adapt their monetary policy accordingly.

Here is the key points put forward by the Central Bank:

• Stablecoins could introduce new channels of vulnerability, in particular by bypassing traditional monetary circuits;

• Their large-scale use risks eroding the capacity of central banks to maintain financial stability, by fragmenting the role of sovereign money;

• They lack the institutional backing and credibility enjoyed by CBDCs, issued directly by a national monetary authority;

• Their uncontrolled growth could disrupt the transmission mechanisms of monetary policy, reducing the effectiveness of traditional tools.

In summary, the Indian Central Bank does not just favor CBDCs. She considers that strict regulation, or even marginalization of private stablecoins, is essential to protect the current monetary architecture.

A booming stablecoin market in the face of slowing global adoption of CBDCs

At a time when the Indian Central Bank is toughening its tone, stablecoins are recording meteoric growth on a global scale, driven in particular by their adoption in cross-border transfers.

According to DefiLlama, their capitalization increased from 205 to 307 billion dollars in 2025proof of their perceived usefulness in the financial system. On-chain data indicates that this growth is largely based on the interest of many American, European and Asian financial institutions, attracted by the speed and low cost of these assets compared to traditional financial infrastructures.

Yet, despite the markets' enthusiasm for these private instruments, only three CBDCs are currently active in the world, those of Nigeria, the Bahamas and Jamaica, according to data from the Atlantic Council.

Forty-nine countries are in the pilot phase, twenty are currently developing their technology and thirty-six others are only at the research stage. This gap between the market momentum for stablecoins and the slow development of CBDCs highlights a paradox: the Indian Central Bank is campaigning for a solution that is still largely experimental, even though real uses lean towards private solutions.

The stablecoin market reaches a record of $310.11 billion, but India maintains its line: priority to the state currency. This strategic choice reflects a desire for strict monetary control in the face of an innovation still considered unstable. A posture that could redefine the balance between financial sovereignty and digital future.