The Privacy Problem Institutions Can’t Ignore in Stablecoins

The internet had native formats for video, audio and files. It did not have one for money. Stablecoins changed that. They represent the equivalent of internet-native dollars that move like MP3s and are accessible on any internet-connected device, worldwide.

But, as MP3s and peer-to-peer platforms like Napster ultimately proved, with accessible new formats also come the rise of new risks and exposures, even theft. After all, public blockchains, the primary infrastructure for stablecoins, are built on radical transparency. Every transaction is recorded on a shared ledger, visible to anyone with an internet connection. Wallet addresses are pseudonymous, but in practice, they are often traceable through analytics, counterparties and behavioral patterns.

For retail users or speculative traders, this transparency is often tolerated or even embraced. For institutions, it can be a non-starter. And this privacy gap does more than deter adoption; it can actively fragment liquidity.

While Morgan Stanley, for example, on Friday (April 24) launched a new “Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio,” the government money market fund product is meant to store the reserves backing stablecoins, and doesn’t imply that the bank itself will be using the tokenized digital dollars.

See also: Can Crypto’s Open Network Dreams Survive Going Corporate?

Radical Transparency Meets Institutional Reality

Although stablecoins have achieved growth in trading, remittances and decentralized finance, their penetration into core institutional workflows such as treasury operations, supply chain finance and cross-border corporate payments remains limited.

The reasons can tie back to the crypto sector’s volatility, regulation or even infrastructure, but it is privacy above all that deters greater adoption.

Corporations operate on controlled disclosure. Payment flows reveal supplier relationships, pricing strategies, inventory cycles and geographic expansion plans. Treasury movements signal liquidity positions and capital allocation decisions. Even seemingly benign transactions can expose competitive intelligence. In traditional financial systems, this information is shielded by layers of confidentiality maintained by banks, clearinghouses and regulatory frameworks that tightly govern who sees what.

Stablecoins invert that model. They offer settlement speed and global reach, but at the cost of exposing transactional data to a public audience. On public blockchain rails, large stablecoin movements are immediately visible. Market participants monitor flows in real time, using them as signals to anticipate trades, front-run positions or adjust pricing. This creates a feedback loop where visibility increases slippage, which in turn discourages large transactions.

The result is a paradox. Stablecoins promise deep, global liquidity, but their transparency discourages the very actors and institutions who could provide it at scale. Instead, liquidity remains concentrated in crypto-native venues, optimized for speed and speculation rather than stability and discretion.

See also: Stablecoins Meet Real World Commerce, but KYC Keeps Breaking the Experience

The Path Ahead Goes Through Compliance and Confidentiality

The analogy to early internet media is instructive. MP3s made music portable and shareable, but they also enabled widespread piracy and disrupted existing business models. Platforms like Napster demonstrated both the power and the risks of a new format.

Stablecoins are at a similar inflection point. They have proven that money can move as seamlessly as data, but they have also exposed the vulnerabilities of an open, transparent system. Just as the music industry eventually evolved toward controlled distribution models — streaming platforms with rights management and monetization — financial systems are now grappling with how to retain the benefits of digital-native money while mitigating its risks.

Findings in the March PYMNTS Intelligence report, “Stablecoins Gain Ground: Why CFOs See More Promise There Than in Crypto,” reveal that while more than 4 in 10 (42%) middle market companies have at least discussed stablecoins, only 13% have reported actual stablecoin use.

Still, nearly half of CFOs say that integration with major banks would make stablecoins more relevant to their operations, while 67% point to regulatory and compliance uncertainty as a key hurdle to overcome.

The push for privacy is also reshaping the role of intermediaries. In traditional finance, banks and custodians act as trusted gatekeepers of information. In a fully decentralized system, their role diminishes. But as privacy concerns rise, a new form of intermediation is emerging.

Institutions are increasingly relying on specialized providers to manage secure transaction layers, compliance checks, and confidential execution environments. These entities do not simply replicate traditional banking functions; they integrate them into digital-native infrastructure, offering privacy as a service.

This evolution suggests that the future of stablecoins will not be purely decentralized or fully centralized. Instead, it will involve a reconfiguration of trust, where privacy, compliance, and efficiency are distributed across a network of specialized actors.