The opinions expressed in this column are our own and not necessarily those of Banca d’Italia or the Eurosystem. We would like to thank Michele Caivano, Paolo Del Giovane, and Massimo Sbracia their helpful comments.
According to the Financial Stability Board (2020, page 9) the term “stablecoin” does not denote a distinct legal or regulatory classification and the use of this term is not intended to affirm or imply that its value is necessarily stable. Rather, the term is used because it is commonly employed by market participants and authorities.
See Financial Stability Board (2022).
Financial Stability Board (2022) points out (page 15) that “International work on standards and recommendations for regulatory frameworks for stablecoins is ongoing. The FSB published in 2020 a report that set out high level recommendations for the regulation of global stablecoins, which includes an effective risk management framework for reserve management. The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (CPMI-IOSCO) are coordinating with the FSB to determine regulatory approaches for GSCs, including those intended for use in mainstream payments.”
The degree of substitutability is, in our model, a parameter exogenously set. In general, substitutability among different means of payment depends on many intertwined factors, like design and diffusion. For example, one can think that in an already “dollarized” economy it can be more difficult to substitute domestic CBDC for a GSC fully backed by “dollars”.
See Jamet et al. (2022).
See Ferrari et al. (2021).