Points of Focus

• Stablecoins expose the interest spread banks capture between deposits and treasury yields.
• Yield-bearing models could redirect that income directly to users holding digital dollars.
• Large-scale adoption risks shifting deposits away from banks and tightening traditional credit channels.

Stablecoins are starting to challenge who gets paid when dollar liquidity generates yield. A recent analysis by Delphi Digital points to a deeper shift. The issue is not just regulation or financial stability – it’s about who earns the return generated by dollar reserves. Today, banks capture that value; Stablecoins could return it to users.

Traditional banking depends on a simple spread business. Banks collect deposits at very low interest rates and allocate those funds into higher-yielding assets. Delphi Digital shows that US treasury bills yield around 3.89%, while average savings accounts pay close to 0.39%. That spread remains with banks and forms a key part of their low-cost earnings. Depositors provide all the capital but receive only a small portion of the return.

Critics frame stablecoins as a threat to national security, but the real threat is to the banking profit model.

Treasuries yield roughly 3.89% while a standard savings account pays 0.39%. Banks capture that entire spread on deposits that could otherwise be earning closer to the… pic.twitter.com/kkNoU5GBWa

— Delphi Digital (@Delphi_Digital) March 18, 2026

Stablecoin yield models challenge deposit-based banking economics

Stablecoins operate on a different structure. Issuers such as Circle and Tether hold reserves mainly in short-duration US treasuries and cash equivalents. Those reserves generate the same treasury-linked return, but stablecoin issuers are testing ways to share more of it with users.

Delphi Digital notes that newer stablecoin frameworks are exploring ways to pass that yield directly to holders. If adopted at scale, this would remove the gap that defines traditional deposits. Instead of earning near-zero interest, users could receive returns closer to the risk-free rate tied to treasuries.

This shift changes the incentive behind holding dollars. A user doesn’t need a bank account to access yield generated from treasury-backed assets. The return on idle dollar balances becomes visible instead of staying inside the banking system.

Hidden interest spread becomes visible in stablecoin-based systems

The impact isn’t limited to higher returns. Stablecoins also expose costs that banks and payment intermediaries usually bury inside pricing. In traditional systems, those costs reflect settlement delays, balance sheet risk, and operational overhead. Users rarely see how much of that cost comes from infrastructure rather than market conditions.

Stablecoin rails separate these elements. Settlement happens instantly on-chain without prefunded accounts or intermediary banks. Pricing becomes more transparent. Network fees, execution costs, and conversion charges are visible, while infrastructure-driven spreads are reduced.

Delphi Digital data shows that sending $1,000 through traditional remittance services can cost between 1.6% and 6%, depending on the corridor. Stablecoin transfers reduce base transaction costs to near zero, excluding on-ramp and off-ramp fees. The savings come from stripping out intermediary layers, not just offering a cheaper price.

Deposit migration risk grows as yield shifts toward users

The implications extend beyond payments. If stablecoins begin distributing yield, deposits may start to move away from banks. Deposits are the cheapest source of funding for banks and support lending activity across the economy.

Delphi Digital highlights that if capital shifts into fully reserved stablecoins holding treasuries, banks lose both the spread and the ability to reuse deposits for credit creation. The effect goes beyond lost margins. Funding becomes more expensive, and lending capacity can tighten – especially for smaller banks that rely heavily on retail deposits.

Early signs of that shift are already visible. Stablecoin supply has grown beyond $300 billion and continues to expand even during weaker crypto market conditions. Demand is increasingly tied to cross-border payments and access to dollar liquidity in emerging markets.

Stablecoins redefine who earns from holding money

The current system concentrates yield within financial institutions. Stablecoins introduce a structure where that yield can move with the asset itself. Once dollars are tokenized and transferable without intermediary balance sheets, the logic of deposit-based intermediation starts to weaken.

If users can hold dollar-based assets that pay yield directly, the old model where banks keep most of that return becomes harder to defend.