The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), often referred to as “the central bank of central banks,” has released a new report titled “DeFiying gravity? An empirical analysis of cross-border Bitcoin, Ether and stablecoin flows”. The report offers a detailed analysis of global crypto-asset movements, highlighting the increasing role of cryptocurrencies in international payments.
The study examines cryptocurrency flows across 184 countries from 2017 to 2024. The data reveals that total trading volumes peaked at around $2.6 trillion in 2021, with stablecoins accounting for nearly half of that volume.
According to the report, the United States, the United Kingdom, and major emerging economies — including China, India, Indonesia, and Turkey — serve as key nodes in global crypto exchange networks. The BIS also points out that even in countries with strict crypto regulations, such as China, activity levels remain high, demonstrating the growing resilience and spread of the phenomenon.
One of the report’s most significant insights is the acknowledgment that cryptocurrencies — especially stablecoins and low-value Bitcoin payments — are being used not only as investment tools but increasingly as actual means of payment. This shift is particularly evident in environments characterized by high inflation, expensive remittance costs, and tight capital controls.
The BIS states that “the higher opportunity costs of using fiat currency, such as high inflation, encourage bilateral cross-border transactions in both unbacked cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.” Additionally, “the high cost of payments via traditional financial intermediaries is associated with significantly higher cross-border flows in stablecoins and low-value Bitcoin payments, particularly from advanced economies to emerging markets and developing countries.”
This analysis comes amid a broader international context of growing interest in asset tokenization and crypto regulation. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently held a roundtable discussion focused on decentralized finance and the potential to move assets on-chain, with participation from major financial institutions such as BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity, and Nasdaq.
This institutional openness contrasts with a more cautious stance seen from some European authorities, where regulatory barriers and reluctance to embrace cryptocurrencies persist.
The BIS report thus confirms a broader transformation: cryptocurrencies, once considered purely speculative assets, are increasingly being recognized as an alternative infrastructure for international payments — particularly in regions where traditional financial systems struggle to meet the needs for speed, accessibility, and capital mobility.
