Stablecoins are beating CBDCs on adoption, EMBank chair says

EMBank Supervisory Board Chairman Ekmel Çilingir argues that USD-backed stablecoins are moving faster than central bank digital currencies because they meet immediate user needs. His article says regulation, emerging-market demand and tokenized dollars are turning stablecoins into a new payments layer.

Why it matters: - Stablecoins are gaining real-world use faster than CBDCs, which could shape how digital payments, remittances and cross-border settlement evolve. - The shift matters most in emerging markets, where users want access to dollars, cheaper transfers and protection from local currency instability. - Banks, fintechs and payment firms may face more pressure on legacy cross-border rails as stablecoin use expands.

What happened: - Ekmel Çilingir, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at EMBank, published a new article on July 8, 2026, in Vilnius, Lithuania. - The article, “Stablecoins vs CBDCs: The Adoption Battle Governments Weren’t Ready For,” argues that stablecoins are being adopted faster than central bank digital currencies. - Çilingir says the market has chosen tokenized dollars because they solve immediate financial problems. - The article is available via the full article.

The details: - CBDCs have been discussed through pilots, consultations and policy debates for years, but Çilingir says many still fail a basic user test: why use them? - USD-backed stablecoins can move across borders, operate outside banking hours, connect with wallets and exchanges, and provide digital dollar access without a traditional US dollar bank account. - Çilingir says stablecoins are useful for payments, settlement and savings in markets facing inflation, currency depreciation, capital controls, costly remittances and weak access to global banking. - The article projects stablecoin supply at roughly $320 billion by 2026. - It says Tether’s USDT is near $190 billion and Circle’s USDC is around $78 billion. - Çilingir notes that much stablecoin volume comes from trading and institutional settlement, not only everyday payments. - He says the on-chain dollar is already functioning as a significant settlement layer.

Between the lines: - Çilingir frames the trend as digital dollarization, not de-dollarization. - He argues the market did not choose Bitcoin as everyday money or a neutral global currency. - The market instead chose tokenized dollars, which suggests demand is favoring familiar monetary units in digital form over new sovereign alternatives. - Çilingir also suggests stronger regulation could strengthen stablecoins by making them more legitimate. - He cites the GENIUS Act in the United States and MiCA in the European Union as examples of governments moving stablecoins into formal regulatory frameworks.

What's next: - Banks, fintechs and payment companies may expand stablecoin use for custody, treasury, settlement, remittances, merchant payments and tokenized deposits. - Regulated institutions could try to combine stablecoin speed with compliance and risk controls. - Çilingir says the winners will be the institutions that connect new payment rails with trusted finance infrastructure.

The bottom line: - Çilingir’s core view is that stablecoins are no longer just crypto products. They are becoming a practical payment infrastructure before CBDCs have reached mass adoption.