New York Federal Reserve Proposes Possible Stablecoin Scenario

Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York published an academic-style study in which they sought to estimate the impact on bank lending under three different stablecoin regulatory frameworks. As of September, the stablecoin’s circulating supply has grown fivefold to nearly $130 billion, according to the researchers. (That amount has grown to at least $155 billion, according to Skew.) If stablecoins become widely adopted across the financial system, they could have a significant impact on financial institutions’ balance sheets, according to New York Fed researchers. With appropriate safeguards and regulations, stablecoins have the potential to provide stability comparable to traditional forms of security value. Using three experiments, the researchers concluded that a "two-tier" system helps maintain traditional forms of bank lending even as stablecoins grow. At the same time, the "narrow banking" framework may lead to "credit disintermediation" but may "bring maximum stability".