Stablecoins To Surge To $2 Trillion By 2028, Says Standard Chartered: Here's What It Means For The Dollar

A forthcoming U.S. regulatory framework is expected to supercharge the stablecoin market, pushing its total value from $230 billion today to $2 trillion by the end of 2028.

According to Geoffrey Kendrick, Head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered, the growth will generate $1.6 trillion in additional demand for U.S. Treasury bills, effectively absorbing the entire new T-bill issuance planned during President Trump's second term.

In a note published Monday, Kendrick said the expected passage of the GENIUS Act, which clarifies the legal treatment of stablecoins, will unlock a massive wave of demand for tokenized dollar-based instruments.

"That growth will require an extra $1.6 trillion of US T-bills to be held as reserves," he said, adding, "That is ALL of the planned new T-bill issuance over that period."

Also Read: Why ‘The Next Generation Of On-Chain Will Be Shaped By AI’, According To WalletConnect’s Pedro Gomes

Why It Matters: The GENIUS Act, already approved by the Senate Banking Committee, is expected to be passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump before summer.

Once enacted, it will mandate that stablecoin reserves be held in instruments with a duration of no more than 93 days.

Kendrick expects most issuers to follow Circle's model for USDC USDC/USD reserves, which holds 88% of its backing in Treasury bills with an average duration of just 12 days.

If realized, the estimated $1.6 trillion in new T-bill demand would make stablecoin issuers the second-largest holders of short-term U.S. government debt, second only to money market funds, which currently hold $2.4 trillion.

Beyond Treasury markets, the boom in stablecoins could also reinforce the U.S. dollar's global influence.

"Rising demand for USD-denominated stablecoin reserves would create additional demand for USD," Kendrick noted, arguing that this trend will "further entrench USD dominance of stablecoins" and help offset macro headwinds such as ongoing tariff disputes.

Read Next:

• Robinhood, Coinbase Could Benefit From New Digital Asset Regulation, Says Bernstein

Image: Shutterstock