The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) warns of a worrying gray area: yield products based on stablecoins are quietly transforming payment instruments into investment vehicles. This rapid change largely escapes regulators, leaving consumers exposed to major risks.
In brief
- The BIS warns about yield products offered by crypto platforms which transform payment stablecoins into investment instruments.
- These yield offers often escape prudential banking supervision and deposit guarantees, exposing users to major risks.
- Regulators take three distinct approaches: total ban (EU, Hong Kong), restrictions for the general public (Singapore), or no explicit ban (US).
The BIS warns of the risks linked to yield stablecoins
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) issues an unprecedented warning in its October 2025 report. The institution warns against the proliferation of yield products offered by certain crypto platforms, based on payment stablecoins – tokens designed to serve as a means of exchange, not an investment.
The principle is simple: platforms lend funds deposited by users to traders, place them in liquidity pools or invest them via decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols like Aave. In other words, they transform an asset supposed to be stable and liquid into a risky product, in search of return.
These practices blur the line between payment and placement. Unlike traditional bank deposits, these operations escape any prudential supervision, do not benefit from any deposit guarantee and cruelly lack transparency. The user believes they hold a secure stablecoin; in reality, he takes part, often without knowing it, in a chain of speculative operations.
THE BIS report identifies several practices: some players finance paid loyalty programs, others lend customers' stablecoins to institutions or reinvest them in DeFi strategies.
In all cases, the platform acts as an unregulated intermediary. What if it goes bankrupt? The Celsius affair provided a lesson: clients, considered unsecured creditors, lost access to their funds.
The American regulatory puzzle
The adoption of the GENIUS law in July 2025 marks a major step in the regulation of digital assets. This text establishes the first comprehensive federal framework for stablecoins backed by fiat currency, with the objective of protecting consumers, strengthening American financial competitiveness and preserving the international role of the dollar.
The US Treasury has launched a public consultation to define the implementing regulations, open until November 4, 2025. Among the 58 questions addressed to the sector are restrictions on interest or yield payments, a sensitive subject that divides regulators and crypto platforms.
The law formally prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying interest, whether in cash, tokens or benefits, but remains silent on crypto platforms that offer such products.
This gray area fuels the fear of traditional banks, worried about a possible flight of deposits towards unregulated but more profitable solutions.
Beyond the legal framework, the issue becomes macroeconomic. Issuers Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC) hold approximately $150 billion in U.S. Treasuries, now among the 17 largest holders of government debt. An unprecedented dependence of the Treasury on these private actors, which illustrates the growing power of stablecoins in the global financial balance.
Towards a harmonized global framework
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is calling for a globally coordinated response to the rise of stablecoins. According to her, regulatory frameworks must go beyond simple control of issuers to also cover the activities of crypto platforms that offer yield products.
Several avenues are being considered: completely prohibiting the remuneration of deposits in stablecoins, restricting the access of individuals to these risky investments, or drastically strengthening the governance and solvency of the intermediaries concerned.
The European Union has already decided with the MiCA regulation, which prohibits any remuneration linked to the holding of stablecoins. Hong Kong and Singapore followed with similar models, although giving professional investors some leeway.
This regulatory fragmentation, however, creates a global imbalance. By allowing a gray area to remain, the United States runs the risk of seeing a proliferation of opaque practices likely to weaken confidence in its financial system.
Behind this legal battle lies a deeper issue: banks fear losing their monopoly on the management of monetary returns. Stablecoins, both liquid and potentially profitable, could become the natural alternative to bank deposits. A development that the BIS is observing with increasing vigilance, aware that it could upset the balance of the global financial system.
Maximize your Tremplin.io experience with our 'Read to Earn' program! For every article you read, earn points and access exclusive rewards. Sign up now and start earning benefits.
