The Financial Stability Board (FSB), which coordinates financial regulators for the G20, submitted a note on global stablecoins to G20 finance ministers on 12 October 2026. In it, the FSB puts the size of this market at $300 billion in mid-2026, 99% backed by the dollar. Above all, it admits that the authorities monitor each stablecoin primarily with data from private compilers. The note sets out findings and announces work streams, with no new rule and no timetable.
What the FSB note to the G20 says
The note runs to five pages and accompanies a letter from Andrew Bailey, Chair of the FSB and Governor of the Bank of England. Dated 8 October 2026, the letter makes stablecoins "a key focus" of the FSB's year, as we noted in connection with the G7 cyberattack simulations. G20 ministers met on 15 October 2026.
The FSB describes a market that is no longer growing. Its capitalisation is "virtually unchanged" over one year. The text also stresses that no national framework has yet been "tested under severe stress".
The core of the note is a comparison with banking. A bank knows its depositors and manages withdrawals with its balance sheet in full view. A global stablecoin issuer, by contrast, "may not know who holds its liabilities, where those holders are domiciled, or sometimes where redemption demand will materialise". Its liabilities circulate from one country to another. Its reserves and the legal protections of its customers remain anchored in one or two jurisdictions.
The FSB dwells on the multi-issuer stablecoin. Several affiliated companies jointly stand behind the same token, but each keeps its own reserves. In a crisis, redemptions can concentrate on a single entity while the reserves sit idle elsewhere. Rebalancing then depends on flows and coordination "that may break down in times of stress". The FSB names no names. According to Journal du Coin, the configuration resembles that of USDC, issued by Circle in the United States and by its French subsidiary for Europe.
Two other risks get a mention. In emerging economies, a stablecoin would become "systemic at a lower usage threshold". And the note points to regulatory arbitrage by "certain issuers" that set up in lightly regulated or unregulated jurisdictions. Journal du Coin recalls that Tether moved its headquarters to El Salvador in January 2025.
Why the authorities lack data on stablecoins
The FSB acknowledges that regulators see this market through private tools. Stablecoin activity "generates abundant data", it writes, but the authorities "rely mainly on private compilers". Each applies its own method, hence discrepancies, noise and "comparability and credibility risks". This costly cleaning work has "largely been carried out by the industry".
The root of the problem is the pseudonymity of public blockchains. Attributing a flow to a use or to a country "is often not possible". And when it is possible, the result "may not be verifiable". About ten days before the note, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a panel of stablecoin flows covering 188 countries. According to Journal du Coin, it built the panel because the geographic attributions of private providers did not satisfy its researchers.
The published figures bear this out. In our article on the 891 billion in stablecoin transfers, total supply came from DefiLlama, cited by Journal du Coin, and not from an authority:
| Measure | Date | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stablecoin capitalisation | Mid-2026 | $300 billion | FSB |
| Total stablecoin supply | 21 October 2026 | About $304 billion | DefiLlama |
| of which USDT (Tether) | 21 October 2026 | $183 billion | DefiLlama |
| of which USDC (Circle) | 21 October 2026 | $72 billion | DefiLlama |
The two orders of magnitude match. But a finance ministry that wants to know how much USDT is circulating on its territory consults, as Journal du Coin notes, the same website as any trader.
Three work streams, but no dates
The note announces work, not decisions. The FSB proposes three work streams for stablecoin monitoring:
- a set of common metrics: depth of secondary markets, geographic distribution of holdings, redemptions and reserves;
- better use of existing data, through cooperation between authorities in different countries;
- good practices for data collection, developed with the industry.
No date has been set for a report. The note adds no recommendations: those of 2023 remain the reference. In his letter, Andrew Bailey writes that cooperation between regulators "is still in its early days".
The United States, for its part, is moving ahead with its own rules. On 21 October 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the US federal banking regulator, published the first final rule under the GENIUS Act, the law governing dollar stablecoins. The issuers it supervises have until 18 January 2027 to comply.
Stablecoin regulation: where does Switzerland stand?
In Switzerland, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) deals with stablecoins on a case-by-case basis. Its approach is set out in a supplement to its guidelines on initial coin offerings (ICOs), published on 11 September 2019. It assesses a token according to its economic function and applies the principle of "same risks, same rules". Our page FINMA and cryptocurrencies details this framework.
The requirements depend on the underlying assets and the holder's rights. Depending on the case, FINMA cites the Anti-Money Laundering Act, securities trading rules, the Banking Act, the Collective Investment Schemes Act and the Financial Market Infrastructure Act (FMIA). In 2019, it took the Libra project as an example: it would have required a payment system licence under the FMIA. On top of that came requirements on capital, liquidity and reserve management, with the issuer alone having to bear the gains and risks of those reserves. The table on our page on FINMA crypto licensing places this case among the other licences.
This framework addresses one of the FSB's concerns: who bears the risk of the reserves in the event of mass redemptions. It does not, however, answer the question of data on cross-border flows.
On the institutions' side, interest still outstrips supply. According to the Swiss Blockchain Survey 2026 by the University of St. Gallen, 80% of the 25 institutions in Switzerland and Liechtenstein surveyed see stablecoins and central bank digital currencies as the major trend over the next three to five years. Yet only 20% offer stablecoin or settlement services, 20% plan to and 60% have no plans at all. 46% cite regulatory or compliance requirements among the obstacles.
What this changes for a holder in Switzerland
For now, the FSB note changes no rules. A Swiss holder of USDT or USDC holds a token issued outside Switzerland. The scenario described by the FSB nonetheless concerns them: in a crisis, redemption demand may target an entity whose reserves are elsewhere. This article does not constitute investment advice.
What we don't know yet
- When the FSB will deliver its common metrics: the note sets no date.
- Switzerland's role in this work: the sources consulted do not mention it.
- How FINMA's practice on stablecoins has evolved since 2019: the documents consulted date from that year.
- The fate of Tether in the United States, which hinges on a decision by the US Treasury on the Salvadoran regime, a decision that does not yet exist.
