FSB tells the G20 that cross-border oversight of global stablecoins is still immature

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) on 12 October published a note to G20 finance ministers and central bank governors warning that the cross-border oversight of global stablecoins is still taking shape. It was sent with a letter from FSB Chair Andrew Bailey ahead of the G20 meeting on 15 October.

What the note finds

According to the note, the total market value of stablecoins in mid-2026 was essentially unchanged on a year earlier, and almost all of it is pegged to the US dollar. Stablecoins are still mainly used to enter, exit and trade in crypto-asset markets.

The FSB says the way regulatory frameworks interact across borders remains uncertain or undefined in many jurisdictions, including how foreign-issued stablecoins are treated. It adds that this has created complex cross-border structures and room for regulatory arbitrage, with some issuers choosing to operate from lightly regulated or unregulated jurisdictions.

The note singles out multi-issuer arrangements, in which affiliated issuers in different jurisdictions share liability for one stablecoin but hold separate reserves. If holders can redeem with any of them, it says, redemption demand in a stress could concentrate on a single entity. It also says round-the-clock secondary-market trading could increase the speed and size of sell-offs, and that a run could spill over into reserve-asset sales, bank deposit withdrawals and foreign exchange markets.

On data, the FSB finds that authorities rely mostly on private compilers whose methods vary in accuracy and transparency, and that pseudonymous public blockchains often make it impossible to tell where stablecoins are held or used.

In his letter, Bailey wrote that “national regulations are taking shape at different speeds and cross-border cooperation in this area is still in its infancy.”

What it means for traders

The note sets no new rules. For firms and traders that use dollar stablecoins to move in and out of crypto markets, it shows where international supervisors are focusing: reserves held in jurisdictions that have not implemented the FSB’s 2023 recommendations, redemption rights across borders, and the data behind stablecoin flows.

What happens next

The FSB proposes three areas of further work: closer monitoring of cross-border vulnerabilities, support for implementing its 2023 recommendations through cooperation and information-sharing between authorities, and gathering information on how authorities are planning for the distress or failure of a global stablecoin. On data, it suggests developing a set of monitoring metrics, making better use of existing data and exploring industry best practices for compiling it.