Innovation to transform the landscape of banking and money: IMF

Washington: As privately issued stablecoins continue to encroach on more traditional forms of money — like cash and bank deposits — policymakers will not simply look on from the sidelines.
They will arbitrate, says the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Their rules and actions will determine how we will eventually pay for everyday items like a cup of coffee and, more importantly, will affect the structure and risks of our financial sector,” said Tobias Adrian, Financial Counsellor and Director of the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department, and his colleague Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli who is the Deputy Division Chief.
Stablecoins are cryptographic tokens that can be easily exchanged, benefitting from minimal price volatility relative to cash. Consumers might quickly adopt these new, cheaper, faster and more user-friendly services integrated into their social media platforms.
However, these also come with notable risks that require prompt regulatory action. One possible regulatory path forward is to give stablecoin providers access to central bank reserves.
“This also offers a blueprint for how central banks could partner with the private sector to offer the digital cash of tomorrow — called synthetic central bank digital currency (sCBDC),” said Adrian and Mancini-Griffoli in a blogpost.