The success of @circle and @Tether_to serves as a remarkable lesson for banks. For the past decade, these 2 companies have been building in plain sight, under everyone's watch - especially banks. They are literally creating an alternative to traditional banking, right before their eyes, by targeting the core of their business: deposits. For years, many banks (though not all!) dismissed stablecoin issuers with contempt, viewing them as merely a "crypto" business, therefore marginal. I'll name names 😅 Just a year ago, some bankers were telling me: "I don't see the point of USDC or USDT. We do the same thing, but better and with more services." And I know they were being SINCERE. But those statements have aged particularly poorly... 🏛️ Today, most banks, including some clients of @TheBigWhale_ , are developing their own stablecoins: - Société Générale launched its euro stablecoin in 2023 and is set to release a dollar stablecoin in the coming weeks. - ING, Deutsche Bank, and Santander are working on their stablecoins. - Bank of America is preparing to launch its stablecoin... - Not to mention payments giant Stripe, which has recently acquired both @Stablecoin and @privy_io. Every bank will eventually embrace stablecoins as they begin to realize these digital tokens are more than just dollars or euros on the blockchain. 👉 They represent a complete financial ecosystem - including wallets (both checking AND savings accounts) and associated financial services - marking the emergence of an entirely new financial landscape, as we explain weekly in The Big Whale. "We're starting to realize we might have missed something significant - it's quite unsettling," a senior executive from a major bank confided to me just last week. While it's not too late, action and progress are imperative - especially in Europe 🇪🇺