Crypto Bros Are a Risk to Stability, Just Like Trade
Global policymakers must pay as much attention to the stablecoin frenzy as they do to tariffs, chips and magnets.
The stablecoin frenzy should put regulators on guard.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/BloombergCircle Internet Group Inc.’s blockbuster initial public offering has lent an aura of legitimacy to digital clones of fiat currencies. It has also put regulators and policymakers on notice. With crypto going mainstream, they need to assess the threat it poses to global financial stability.
Citigroup Inc. is describing 2025 as a possible “ChatGPT moment” for stablecoins, which its analysts have pegged for a sevenfold expansion over the next five years. However, for the market to reach $1.6 trillion by 2030, a lot of the dollars held as banknotes and other liquid assets by households and firms will have to get tokenized into the likes of Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC.