This week’s DC Blockchain Summit from the Chamber of Digital Commerce included a timely panel discussion on stablecoins given the recent Terra Luna stablecoin implosion as well as yesterday’s testimony in front of the House Financial Services Committee by Federal Reserve Vice Chairwoman Lael Brainard.
The Chairwoman was hopeful telling lawmakers that stablecoins and a central bank digital currency (CBDC) could provide a “safe” government-backed settlement layer and “would actually facilitate and enable private sector innovation.”
Panel participants for “Stablecoins and the Future of Money” included:
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- Paul Balzano, Professional Staff, House Committee on Agriculture
- Paul Wong, Stellar Development Foundation, Director of Product, CBDCs and Institutions
- Caitlin Long, Founder & CEO, Custodia Bank
- Jason Somensatto, Acting Director, LabCFTC
- Stephen Palley, Founder and Chair, Anderson Kill (moderator)
Are stablecoins innovative?
Moderator Stephen Palley of law firm Anderson Kill led things off by wondering aloud whether stablecoins are truly an innovation.
Caitlin Long, Founder and CEO of Custodia Bank and a well-known, Wyoming-based cryptocurrency advocate, began by saying that they are innovative but not truly crypto. She clarified: “They are not truly crypto in the sense that anything that touches the US dollar – so I’m talking about any sort of backed version of a stablecoin – ultimately has to clear through the Federal Reserve and therefore they’re not decentralized meaning they may be issued on blockchain-like rails, but they are not decentralized. They have an issuer and anything that has an issuer by my definition isn’t decentralized. Ergo, it is quasi-crypto, but not actually crypto.”
Continue reading “Not All Stablecoins Are Created Equal – Or Stable”