Powell: Stablecoin regulation belongs to the Fed

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said stablecoins are a type of private money and need to be regulated as such.

During a panel discussion about digital asset regulation hosted by the Banque de France on Tuesday morning, Powell said stablecoins are only as stable as the fiat currency to which they are pegged. In the case of dollar-denominated stablecoins, that leads back to the Fed. 

"The central bank is and will always be the main source of trust behind money. Stablecoins essentially borrow that trust from the underlying issuer, and in many cases, these are dollar stablecoins, so they're really borrowing that trust," he said. "These are private forms of money. They will be subjected to runs if their reserves are not full of very high-quality assets, so there's a regulatory job to be done there."

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell
Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, said Tuesday morning that stablecoin regulation falls squarely within the Fed's jurisdiction but wanted Congress to provide guidance on what a regulatory framework should look like.

Because these assets are being used in transactions across the country — and, in many cases, across borders — it should be the Fed's duty to supervise these issuers, Powells said. 

"I would liken it to what happens with the dual banking system here where there's a very important role for state regulators but … for any commercial bank in the United States there's also a role in licensing that bank to operate at the Fed or another federal agency," he said. "In the case of this, which is money creation, we think it really should be the Fed that does play that role."

Powell participated virtually in the panel discussion, which was part of the Banque de France's conference on the opportunities and challenges of tokenized finance. Christine Lagard, president of the European Central Bank, Augustin Carstens, general manager of the Bank for International Settlements, and Ravi Menon, managing director for the Monetary Authority of Singapore, also participated in the event.

During the hourlong conversation, Powell noted that investments in stablecoins behave like money market funds in some ways and deposits in others, both of which are heavily regulated by the Fed. Still, because stablecoins are public-facing and could be perceived to be public money, specific regulatory frameworks are appropriate, he said.

Digital-asset regulation is the subject of great scrutiny and debate in Washington at the moment. Stablecoins are viewed by some as the first step for a broader regulatory intervention in crypto markets given their instability of late. But others worry about the unintended consequences of bringing crypto into the regulatory perimeter and think the Fed should not stick its neck out on the issue.

Powell said the Fed would look to Congress to pass legislation on the matter, but he shared some principles he would like to see incorporated into a stablecoin regulation framework.

"The reserves need to be … transparent to the public, and they need to consist of the kind of credit assets that will always be there when there's a need to fund withdrawals," he said. "Otherwise, the infrastructure will be run-prone, and we saw that in the last few months."

Seal of the Department of the Treasury
White House digital asset report lays the groundwork for CBDC

Central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, were also discussed during the panel. Lagarde noted that the European Central Bank's digital euro project is in its prototype phase and in roughly one year the central bank will decide whether to move forward on a full implementation throughout the eurozone.

"We are certainly not ahead of the game because the [People's Bank of] China is ahead of us and a few others, but we are not doing badly in terms of timetable and we are sticking to it," Lagarde said.

She said the European Central Bank is prioritizing convenience of use for its prototype CBDC, but added there are notable risks, such as a digital euro crowding out traditional banks. She said the central bank is working to ensure its financial system remains intermediated and that banks continue to play a key role in it.

Powell said while the Fed is exploring the idea of a digital dollar closely, he does not anticipate a decision being reached "for some time." He also cited intermediation as one of four baseline requirements for a U.S. CBDC, should one be created. It would also have to be privacy protected, identity verified — stripping away the anonymity offered by private digital currencies — and easily transferable or interoperable with other payment systems.

A digital dollar, once a fringe idea, has gained traction with some government agencies and elected officials. Reports issued by the Treasury Department and the White House earlier this month have added to that momentum by outlining a path to viability for a CBDC.

Powell said the Fed will need approval from both the executive branch and Congress to move forward on implementation, which has emerged as a battleground topic in the debate about a U.S. CBDC. It remains unclear if that approval must come in the form of signed legislation or if the Fed would move forward with less formal authorization.

"We see this as a process of at least a couple of years where we're doing work and building public confidence in our analysis and in our ultimate conclusions," Powell said, "which, as I say, we certainly haven't reached yet."

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