Standard Chartered Sees $1T Emerging-Market Deposit Flight to Digital Dollars by 2028
Standard Chartered says a wave of deposit flight from emerging market banks into digital dollars could be around the corner, projecting that users may move as much as $1 trillion into US dollar–pegged stablecoins by 2028. In a report released Monday, the bank argued that growing demand for dollar exposure, coupled with easier access to crypto rails, is setting the stage for a significant reallocation of savings from traditional banking systems to stablecoin platforms.
The bank attributes the momentum largely to the dynamics of emerging markets: large unbanked and underbanked populations, persistent local currency volatility, and the appeal of 24/7, low-friction digital dollar access. According to the report, many users in these regions are already treating stablecoins as functional substitutes for US dollar accounts, using them for saving, remittances, and day-to-day transactions. Standard Chartered added that the trend could be further reinforced by regulatory clarity in the United States, specifically citing the recently passed US GENIUS Act, which imposes a zero-yield requirement on compliant stablecoin issuers. While that rule aims to reduce direct competition with bank deposits, the bank believes it won’t halt adoption. “While the recently passed US GENIUS Act aims to mitigate deposit flight by prohibiting US-compliant stablecoin issuers from paying direct yields, stablecoins are still likely to be adopted even in the absence of yield,” the report noted.
In its base case, Standard Chartered forecasts that stablecoin savings held in emerging markets could jump from roughly $173 billion today to about $1.22 trillion by 2028. That growth implies more than $1 trillion in potential deposit outflows from conventional banks over the next few years. The shift is expected to be driven less by a handful of large holders and more by broad-based retail participation, as individuals move small sums into stablecoins for safety, convenience, and cross-border utility. “At scale, small holdings will be significant; this growth is likely to occur mostly in EM, where demand for a liquid, 24/7, trustworthy alternative to local banks is greater,” the report added.
Standard Chartered identified several economies as particularly exposed to deposit migration, highlighting Egypt, Pakistan, Colombia, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka as among the most vulnerable to outflows. It also pointed to India, China, Brazil, and South Africa as major markets where growing interest in stablecoins could speed up a longer-term shift from legacy banking toward digital assets. The bank’s outlook dovetails with its earlier projection that the global stablecoin market could reach $2 trillion by 2028 as crypto adoption broadens and on-chain payment infrastructure matures.
The potential rebalancing isn’t limited to dollar products. In Europe, nine banks—including ING, UniCredit, CaixaBank, and Danske Bank—are reportedly preparing a euro-denominated stablecoin designed to offer a regional alternative to US dollar–backed tokens. That initiative signals that established financial institutions are increasingly willing to participate in the evolution of digital money, even as they seek to retain customers within regulated, bank-led ecosystems.
Taken together, Standard Chartered’s analysis suggests the next phase of stablecoin growth will be defined by mainstream retail usage in emerging markets, regulatory guardrails that legitimize but constrain yield, and a competitive response from traditional banks aiming to provide their own digital currency options. If the projections hold, the impact on deposit bases, cross-border flows, and the architecture of everyday payments could be substantial by the end of the decade.
