1. Ripple identifies five major priorities for building a borderless stablecoin ecosystem.
2. Global regulatory alignment remains the biggest barrier and opportunity for stablecoin adoption.
3. Ripple and SBI Holdings’ partnership in Japan showcases progress toward compliant global integration.

Ripple has published a detailed report addressing the roadblocks preventing stablecoins from achieving true global adoption. The blockchain firm emphasized that while stablecoins are now integral to cross-border payments, their future depends on regulatory consistency, interoperability, and trust.

At the Point Zero Forum earlier this year, Ripple collaborated with Global Digital Finance to present a report titled “The Fungibility of Stablecoins: Unlocking Cross-Border Payments or Fragmenting the Global Financial System.”

The document summarized discussions among regulators and financial experts from multiple jurisdictions, identifying five core priorities for building a unified stablecoin system.

First, the report highlighted that stablecoins are already proving their worth beyond crypto trading. They’re being used in cross-border payroll, B2B settlements, and tokenized market transactions, showing real-world utility.

Second, the company urged that interoperability must be a design principle to avoid isolated systems similar to the current financial silos. Third, Ripple noted that regulatory harmonization remains the biggest obstacle to global adoption, as differing national laws hinder fungibility.

Fourth, it pointed out that stablecoins should maintain reliability and predictability, making them trusted payment instruments rather than speculative assets. Lastly, Ripple called for global agreement on shared standards and definitions to ensure smooth compliance and technical consistency.

Basel Crypto Rules May Slow Stablecoin Growth

The report also highlighted the multifaceted regulatory landscape as the largest obstacle for stablecoin incorporation. Recently, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision was prompted by a cohort of financial bodies to reconsider the proposed Cryptoasset Exposures Standard (SCO60).

The framework, which places capital demands on banks that possess cryptoassets, may hinder innovation in ways unforeseen by capitalising all stablecoins with the same degree of risk.

The industry groups cautioned that such hard-wired standards could bumble the market and deter bank involvement, ultimately moving stablecoin activity outside the regulated space. They advocated for regulators to differentiate regulated and unregulated stablecoins and take a risk-adaptive approach instead of a generic model.

Ripple Says Interoperability Key for Global Stablecoins

Ripple’s report emphasized that interoperability is no less important than regulation. Without it, stablecoins may get locked in regional ecosystems and cannot play the global role they are meant for.

Compliant stablecoins can then operate in the very tight national regimes while keeping cross-border utility with the company’s recent Memorandum of Understanding with SBI Holdings to circulate the RLUSD in Japan.

Ripple believes that stablecoin fungibility can only be achieved through coordination among regulators, financials, and blockchain builders. By synchronizing regulatory convergence with interoperable infrastructure, stablecoins can become the bedrock component of the worldwide payments system in the very near future, bridging the traditional and digital economy.

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