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Stablecoins: A Brave New World?

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  • Anastasia Melachrinos
  • Christian Pfister

Abstract

At the root of the notion of stablecoin (SC) lies a desire to reconcile two different worlds: that of legal currency, whose essential attributes are hierarchical order, the vocation to uniqueness and stability of the purchasing power, and that of crypto-assets, featuring decentralization, multiplicity and thus the possibility of choice, and the instability of value. Do SCs fulfill their promises? With regard to their volatile prices, limited number, small total amount, and concentrated market, SCs have so far met with a mixed success. They rather represent a complement to the crypto-assets market. However, the arrival of very large issuers, securing a higher degree of confidence to users, and apt to reach a wide public, could give their projects a potentially systemic impact. These global SCs would create risks, in particular for financial stability and monetary policy, and in lesser-developed economies. This paper reviews these risks and the way the private sector, regulators and central banks can address them.

Suggested Citation

  • Anastasia Melachrinos & Christian Pfister, 2020. "Stablecoins: A Brave New World?," Working papers 757, Banque de France.
    • Handle: RePEc:bfr:banfra:757
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Pfister Christian, 2020. "Digital currencies: from myth to innovative projects [Monnaies digitales : du mythe aux projets innovants]," Bulletin de la Banque de France, Banque de France, issue 230.
    2. Auer, Raphael & Tercero-Lucas, David, 2022. "Distrust or speculation? The socioeconomic drivers of U.S. cryptocurrency investments," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    3. Pfister Christian, 2020. "The 100% Reserve Reform: Calamity or Opportunity?," Working papers 786, Banque de France.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Stablecoins; monetary policy; financial stability.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies

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