Stablecoins such as USDT and USDC could reduce some of the delays and intermediaries involved in international payments, the International Monetary Fund says. Transfers between blockchain wallets can settle in seconds or minutes and operate around the clock, potentially making large-value cross-border payments faster and cheaper. However, the IMF has not established that stablecoins are always less expensive than bank transfers. The total cost can include exchange fees, blockchain network charges, conversion spreads, and on- or off-ramp fees. The fund also warns that broader adoption could accelerate the movement of financial risks across borders, encourage currency substitution, weaken capital controls and monetary policy transmission, increase capital-flow and exchange-rate volatility, facilitate tax evasion, and reduce bank funding if deposits move into stablecoins.