Ripple's UK & Europe policy director, Matthew Osborne, has issued a compelling call for central banks worldwide to stop viewing stablecoins as an external threat and instead integrate well-regulated issuers into the core financial safety net. Writing for the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) on January 19, 2026, Osborne argued that combining regulatory oversight with access to official central bank infrastructure could transform stablecoins into a net stabilizer for payments and settlement systems.
Osborne highlighted the sector's explosive growth, citing a stablecoin market capitalization now "in excess of $300bn"—specifically noted as surpassing $307 billion—with annual transaction volumes that he claims now exceed those of Visa and Mastercard combined. He pointed to a recent all-time high in transaction volume of $33 trillion, driven primarily by payment settlements.
The Ripple executive framed this as an evolutionary, not revolutionary, shift. "Regulated stablecoins could play a key role in financial markets alongside other forms of money," Osborne wrote. "First, stablecoins are more likely to complement the existing financial system than replace it. This is evolution, not revolution. The solution lies in central banks channeling stablecoin momentum, not fighting it."
He pointed to growing recognition among major central banks, including the European Central Bank's (ECB) acknowledgment of stablecoins' benefits for cross-border payments and the Bank of England's view that they could support "faster, cheaper retail and wholesale payments" within a future "multi-money" system. Osborne argued that stablecoins are structurally preferred for cross-border flows and multi-chain markets due to their global reach and presence across numerous blockchain networks, unlike geographically limited central bank money.
Addressing central bank concerns that stablecoins could drain bank deposits and amplify financial stress, Osborne pushed back, stating the risk is overstated. He noted that markets already accommodate similar instruments like money market funds without causing sustained deposit runs.
His core argument is that regulation alone is insufficient. "But regulation alone is not enough," Osborne wrote, referencing the 2023 de-pegging of USDC following exposure to Silicon Valley Bank. "Stablecoin issuers lack access to the safety net that gives bank deposits their resilience." He proposed that central banks should extend elements of this safety net, including allowing regulated issuers to hold backing assets in central bank accounts, offering liquidity insurance, and granting direct payment-system access to reduce risk.
Osborne positioned the choice for central banks as strategic: resist and risk the market scaling beyond official influence, or "bring them inside the tent" to shape development through prudential oversight as tokenized settlement rails mature. He suggested momentum could accelerate in the U.S. following the potential passage of the Genius Act, which would introduce federal rules and allow banks to issue stablecoins.
