Banks must offer tokenised deposits and stablecoins

At a recent webinar hosted with Fireblocks, industry panelists argued banks should offer both tokenised deposits and bank‑issued stablecoins to support programmable liquidity and cross‑border payments as use cases move into production.

Panelists described tokenised deposits as instruments on a bank’s regulated balance sheet and inside its KYC perimeter. They said these deposits fit automated functions such as real‑time cash concentration, conditional disbursement, atomic settlement and intra‑group liquidity optimisation.

Bank‑issued stablecoins were framed as a means to move value across borders and between currency regimes where local capital controls or non‑convertibility would otherwise block transfers.

Panelists explained that combining the two lets a bank cover a full corporate treasury flow. Tokenised deposits handle on‑balance‑sheet automation and reconciliation, while stablecoins enable cross‑border settlement that clears in real time and can bypass some capital‑control frictions. Use cases cited as moving into production include settlement outside traditional banking hours, instant delivery‑versus‑payment, and treasury visibility across legal entities without manual reconciliation.

Demand is coming from corporate treasuries and from correspondent banks, counterparties and market infrastructure participants seeking greater efficiency and interoperability. Panelists warned that correspondents increasingly expect connection and that banks without these capabilities may lose requests for proposals.

Panelists noted regulatory and policy constraints remain decisive. Capital controls, local currency rules and broader policy choices determine where stablecoins can be used, and technical solutions cannot replace regulatory approval or changes to capital requirements.

Speakers included Shrutisagar (Shruti) Chandrasekaran, vice‑president of Global Business Solutions at Fireblocks, with Scott Hamilton, a global payments and liquidity expert, as moderator. The panel recommended that banks build on‑balance‑sheet tokenisation capabilities, deploy stablecoin rails where permitted, align offerings with correspondent and client expectations, and engage proactively with regulators to support production rollouts.