The circulating supply of fiat-backed stablecoins has climbed above $284 billion, driven largely by USDT and USDC, and reigniting debate over potential risks to bank deposits. Economists Niall Ferguson and Manny Rincon-Cruz argue that stablecoins resemble modern bank notes and can grow alongside traditional deposits, while banking groups warn that reward-bearing tokens and rising transaction volumes could pressure funding costs and credit. Recent data on trillions of dollars in annual stablecoin payments and new U.S. regulation for payment tokens underscore how quickly this market is reshaping digital money usage.

Matcha Meta, a DEX aggregator, reported a breach linked to liquidity provider SwapNet. Security firms tracked about $16.8 million drained, including ~10.5M USDC swapped for ~3,655 ETH on Base, with assets bridging to Ethereum. The team warned on January 25–26, 2026 that users should revoke approvals to the SwapNet router.