A Bank for International Settlements working paper titled "Are Stablecoins Substitutes for Bank Deposits?" found that rising bank deposit rates are associated with slower growth in stablecoin market capitalization. Using weekly U.S. data from January 2019 through June 2025 and controlling for Bitcoin prices, Treasury yields, and broader financial market conditions, the study estimated that a one-basis-point weekly increase in average deposit rates corresponds to roughly a 3-percentage-point cumulative slowdown in stablecoin market cap growth over the following ten weeks—dropping from an average of about 15% to around 12%, rather than triggering outright declines. The research also identified notable differences between major stablecoins: USDC's supply growth reacted more strongly to higher deposit rates than USDT's, suggesting varying degrees of substitutability with traditional bank deposits across issuers. The authors cautioned that the findings cannot be interpreted as evidence that total bank deposits or lending declined, noting the sample covers only a single high-rate cycle. They further emphasized that the views expressed are those of the researchers and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the BIS or its member central banks.