Standard Chartered analysts estimate that dollar-pegged stablecoins could take around $500 billion in deposits from US banks by the end of 2028, intensifying competition for funding between traditional banks and crypto infrastructure.
Regional credit institutions are considered the most vulnerable in the banking sector, as their revenues are more closely linked to net interest margins (the difference between the return on assets and the cost of deposits), so the outflow of funding has a greater impact on profitability.
The risk mechanism for banks is that the “safe layer” of money is partially transferred from deposits to tokens: payment functions and part of the transaction activity can be transferred to stablecoins, and issuers’ reserves are more often placed not in the banking system, but in US Treasury securities. In particular, according to Standard Chartered’s estimates, the largest issuers, Tether and Circle, hold the bulk of their reserves in US Treasuries, meaning that there is little “redeposit” into banks.
The accelerating factor is regulation. Reuters notes that the federal law on stablecoins passed in the US is expected to encourage their wider use; the document prohibits issuers from paying interest on stablecoins, but banks believe that there is still a “loophole” for paying returns through third parties (e.g., crypto exchanges), which intensifies competition for deposits.
If Standard Chartered’s assessment scenario is confirmed, part of the funding will shift from the banking system to the US government debt market, as the growth of stablecoins increases demand for short-term treasury bills, which are used to secure reserves.
BANK, DEPOSIT, stablecoins, US
India and the European Union announced the conclusion of negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) following the summit in New Delhi.
According to the European Commission, trade liberalization will cover 99.3% for the EU and 96.6% for India (taking into account the partial liberalization of a number of items), with the EU eliminating tariffs on more than 90% of tariff lines and India on 86%.
The Indian side stated that the agreement provides access to the EU market for more than 99% of Indian exports in value terms, noting that the document will undergo legal review and final approval procedures.
According to EU profile materials, European agri-food exports will see a reduction in current high tariffs, including on alcoholic beverages—up to 30% for most wines, 40% for spirits, and 50% for beer. A number of Indian and industry sources also indicate that for certain categories, including passenger cars, tariffs may be reduced from 110% to 10% within an annual quota of up to 250,000 cars, and for premium wines – up to 20%.
EU-India trade in goods in 2024 amounted to around EUR 120 billion, with India being the EU’s ninth largest trading partner; for India, the EU is the largest trading partner in goods. The Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry estimated bilateral trade in goods with the EU in the 2024-2025 financial year at $136.54 billion.
Source: https://expertsclub.eu/indiya-ta-yes-zavershyly-peregovory-shhodo-ugody-pro-zvt/
EU, FTA, INDIA, NEGOTIATIONS
Investments in the construction of new generation facilities will benefit both investors and Ukraine’s energy system, emphasized Vitaliy Zaychenko, head of NPC Ukrenergo, during his online participation in a meeting of the European Business Association’s board. During the meeting, he informed representatives of Ukraine’s largest financial and industrial groups about the current situation in the energy sector and prospects for the near future.
“Since October last year, the enemy has been carrying out comprehensive attacks on energy facilities, using a very wide arsenal of weapons: from rocket artillery to guided aerial bombs, strike drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. Many power generation, transmission, and distribution facilities in most regions of Ukraine have been damaged,” said Zaychenko.
According to him, there is an acute power shortage in the energy system, which cannot yet be covered by existing generation and imports of electricity. Under these conditions, it is very important for the Ukrainian energy sector to attract private investment in the construction of power generation facilities.
As the head of Ukrenergo recalled, thanks to special auctions held by the National Energy Company, 423 MW of new generating capacity appeared in the power system over the past year.
“We are grateful to businesses that invest in projects that strengthen the stability of the energy system in such difficult conditions,” he stressed.
In addition, Zaychenko noted the importance of connecting to the common grid those generating capacities that are currently used by businesses and industry exclusively as backup power sources in case of hourly or emergency outages.
“If they were operating on the electricity market, such facilities could cover part of the power deficit in the energy system and at the same time generate profits for their owners,” he said.
According to preliminary expert estimates, the total deficit of operational generating capacity in Ukraine currently exceeds 4 GW.
In 2025, Ukraine imported $89.54 million worth of vegetables used in borscht, including carrots, beets, cabbage, and onions, and $164.36 million worth of potatoes.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), Ukraine increased its imports of onions by 2.4 times in 2025, to 43,180 tons. The purchase cost $22.66 million, which is 2.6 times more than the $8.61 million spent in 2024. The top three suppliers of onions to Ukraine were China and Egypt, which accounted for 21.2% and 17.44% of imports, amounting to $4.80 million and $3.95 million, respectively. The Netherlands rounded out the top three with a 16.33% share ($3.70 million).
During this period, Ukraine imported 68.9% more cabbage than last year — 45.66 thousand tons versus 27.03 thousand tons, respectively. The cost of purchasing it increased by 62.3% and amounted to $34.31 million (compared to $21.14 million in 2024). The main suppliers were Poland (27.45% of supplies worth $9.42 million), Macedonia (22.96% worth $7.88 million), and the Netherlands (14.48% worth $4.97 million).
Ukraine increased its imports of carrots, beets, and celery by 4.9 times in 2025, to 48,010 tons (compared to 9,850 tons in 2024). USD 32.57 million was spent on these needs, which is 5.1 times more than in 2024 (USD 6.37 million). Last year, the main suppliers of these root vegetables to Ukraine were Poland, Moldova, and the Netherlands, which accounted for 46.31%, 12.9%, and 11.54% of the imported volume, respectively. In monetary terms, they earned $15.08 million, $4.20 million, and $3.76 million from these supplies, respectively.
As reported, Ukraine imported 138.41 thousand tons of potatoes in 2025, which is 5.3 times more than in 2024. In monetary terms, potato imports increased 4.9 times, to $74.82 million, compared to $15.21 million a year ago.
In total, Ukraine imported 275.26 thousand tons of vegetables for borscht in 2025.
Imports of vegetables for borscht to Ukraine (2025 vs. 2024)
Data: State Customs Service
Ukraine increased cucumber imports by 46.3% in 2025 compared to 2024, reaching 70,820 tons, according to the State Customs Service.
In monetary terms, cucumber imports grew by 38.8% to $89.14 million.
The largest suppliers of cucumbers to Ukraine in 2025 were Turkey (83.5% in monetary terms), Romania (7.6%), and Poland (4.6%). A year earlier, the top three were Turkey (73.6%), Poland (11.8%), and Romania (4.9%).
As reported, in July 2025, Ukraine introduced anti-dumping duties on imports of fresh cucumbers from Turkey at a rate of 20.1% for a period of five years.
In January-December 2025, Ukraine imported 138,410 tons of potatoes, which is 5.3 times (+431.3%) more than in 2024, when 26,050 tons were imported into the country, according to the State Customs Service.
According to published statistics, in monetary terms, potato imports increased 4.9 times (+391.9%) to $74.82 million compared to $15.21 million a year earlier. The main imports came from Poland (38.2%), Egypt (14.1%), and the Netherlands (10.8%).
Potato exports from Ukraine during the same period amounted to 2.38 thousand tons, which is 11.2% less than in 2024 (2.68 thousand tons). At the same time, despite the physical reduction in export volumes, in monetary terms, the sale of Ukrainian potatoes abroad was more profitable and brought in 3.1% ($584 thousand) more revenue than in 2024 ($566 thousand). The main buyers were Moldova (60.2% of all exports), Azerbaijan (35.4%), and Georgia (1.2%).
As reported, Ukraine had a poor potato harvest in the 2024 season due to drought, extremely high temperatures, and a lack of seed material.
Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture Taras Vysotsky noted in a podcast by the Center for Economic Strategies that the 2025 vegetable harvest in Ukraine is sufficient and even larger than last year, so no shortage is expected in this sector.
Commenting on Ukraine’s potato imports in 2024-2025, Mykola Furdyga, director of the Potato Institute, explained that this record volume of imports was caused by the unusual weather conditions in 2024. Therefore, the state was forced to import potatoes to meet domestic food needs. European countries were eager to supply Ukraine with their products due to their attractive prices. At the same time, potatoes from Egypt did not dominate the market but occupied their traditional niche in the off-season (February-March – IF-U). In addition, Ukraine traditionally imports seed potatoes from leading breeding companies in the European Union.
Furdyga noted that since the beginning of the war, there has been a trend in Ukraine toward reducing potato cultivation in households and expanding production areas for this crop in farms and even in agricultural holdings. He explained this trend by the departure of the population from villages abroad and mobilization.
