Is a monopoly ever a good thing?

Here is our pick of the 3 most important Stablecoin news stories during the week.

This week we saw the empire strike back.  Well the State actually, reacting to Facebook’s looming launch.

I have always thought that if you want a straight answer, good or bad go find a German.  So on Monday, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz did some plain talking.  “A wolf in sheep’s clothing is still a wolf,” he said. “It is clear to me that Germany and Europe cannot and will not accept its entry into the market while the regulatory risks are not adequately addressed.”

He added: “We must do everything possible to make sure the currency monopoly remains in the hands of states.”

Facebook’s renamed cryptocurrency is still ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’: German Finance Minister

 

However, it is also becoming clear that the State in the form of CBDC could really make a mess of the whole thing.  The Economist ran an extensive article on the risks involved both in implementation and in unintended consequences to the Banking system.

Free exchange – Will central-bank digital currencies break the banking system? | Finance & economics

 

Finally, we saw a major global Bank in Standard Chartered come out and say that the move to Digital is inevitable and that it will be a land of many (Private coins, State CBDC’s, Fiat Tokens, Crypto….).  This is not just a prediction it has “skin in the game” investment behind it as the Bank is eager to position itself for this new future.

Standard Chartered CEO: Digital Currency Adoption ‘Absolutely Inevitable’

 

So this week, we saw the Empire (The State) wake up, realise it has a job on its hands and a major global bank come out and stake both its reputation and money on this new Digital future.

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Alan Scott is an expert in the FX market and has been working in the domain of stablecoins for many years.  

We have a self imposed constraint of 3 news stories per week because we serve busy senior Fintech leaders who just want succinct and important information.

For context on stablecoins please read this introductory interview with Alan “How stablecoins will change our world” and read articles tagged stablecoin in our archives. 

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