Dollar stablecoins could reinforce the U.S. dollar’s international role and increase demand for U.S. Treasurys, while large-scale redemptions could amplify stress in government bond markets, Carolyn Wilkins, an external member of the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee, said in a Sep. 15 speech at Queen’s University Belfast. Stablecoins in circulation reached roughly $300 billion by mid-2026, up from less than $5 billion at the beginning of 2020, and about 98% of the global market is denominated in dollars. Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC held nearly $150 billion in Treasury bills at the end of 2025 and bought about $33 billion during the year. Wilkins said dollar stablecoins could broaden access to dollar assets, lower costs in some cross-border payment corridors and extend dollarization into digital markets. She also warned that simultaneous redemptions could force issuers to sell reserves quickly, worsening yield and liquidity moves in an already stressed Treasury market. The sector is not yet large enough to pose a major threat to the Treasury market or a material financial-stability risk in the UK, she said. The GENIUS Act has strengthened the link between U.S. payment stablecoins and Treasury demand through reserve, disclosure and insolvency rules, while implementation remains unfinished. The Bank of England’s framework for systemic sterling stablecoins places greater emphasis on liquidity safeguards, with its final framework due at the end of 2026.