Asset manager Amundi has raised concerns that a boom in dollar-backed stablecoins in the wake of the United States’ GENIUS Act could cause a major shift in money flows that destabilises the global payment system. “It could be genius, or it could be evil,” Amundi Asset Management’s chief investment officer Vincent Mortier told, voicing his concerns about the U.S. act. JPMorgan expects the amount of stablecoins in circulation to roughly double to $500 billion in the next few years, although some estimates have put it as high as $2 trillion. As stablecoins need be pegged to the dollar under the U.S. act, it will trigger buying of U.S. Treasury bonds. That has its benefits for the U.S. as it grapples with a gaping budget deficit, but could also pose problems for the U.S. and other countries. “In doing so you create an alternative to the U.S. dollar and that could lead to more weakening of the dollar,” Mortier said. “Because if a country is pushing a stablecoin, it could be perceived as pushing the message that the dollar is not that strong.” Currently, 98% of all stablecoins are pegged to the dollar, but more than 80% of stablecoin transactions happen outside the United States. Mortier said he still had not fully made up his mind about stablecoins, but the worry was that a mass uptake could impact financial stability. As well as the dollarization issue, they would become “quasi-banks” he said, as people will deposit money in a coin assuming they can take it out again whenever they want. They will also be used as a direct means of payment.