Crypto executives say digital-native generations could bypass traditional banks as stablecoins, self-custody and blockchain finance reshape how younger users manage money

Self-custody has outrun actual commerce: [Gita Gopinath’s June BIS lecture](https://www.bis.org/events/agm2026/sp260628_lecture.htm) put over 70% of stablecoin holdings in self-custody wallets, while [the Kansas City Fed](https://www.kansascityfed.org/research/payments-system-research-briefings/what-are-stablecoins-used-for-today-estimating-the-distribution-of-stablecoins/) estimated only 0.7% of supply was used for payments in November 2025. Customer ownership can move to wallets while banks remain upstream balance-sheet infrastructure, since the [Federal Reserve](https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/stablecoins-in-2025-developments-and-financial-stability-implications-20260408.html) still lists Treasuries, Treasury-backed repos and bank deposits among the high-quality reserves behind USDT and USDC in April 2026.

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