🌎 Experts Discuss Future of CBDCs vs Stablecoins at Money20/20 Panel

Alisa DiCaprio from R3, Siân Jones from XReg Consulting, and Ran Goldi from Fireblocks shared their insights on the current state and future of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) compared to privately issued stablecoins.

During a panel discussion at Money20/20, the professionals explored whether CBDCs and stablecoins would cooperate or compete and the practical implications of widespread digital currency acceptance.

Stablecoins: Growing Adoption and Use Cases

Ran Goldi highlighted the increasing adoption of stablecoins like USDC and USDT. He noted that “30 million people globally are using stablecoins,” with monthly transactions reaching $3.3 trillion.

Goldi outlined key use cases, including:

Cross-border payments
Payouts to individuals
Merchant acceptance

These stablecoins are being utilized to bypass traditional financial systems and have seen significant growth recently.

CBDCs: Interest Versus Adoption

Alisa DiCaprio provided a contrasting view on CBDCs, explaining that while there is significant interest, adoption remains low.

“Adoption of CBDCs is below 0.2% of circulating currency in every economy where CBDCs are live,” DiCaprio stated, citing privacy concerns and implementation complexities as major hurdles.

DiCaprio noted that emerging economies, rather than advanced ones, are leading the way in CBDC development due to their simpler banking systems.

Regulatory Perspectives

Siân Jones discussed regulatory perspectives by describing regulators’ cautious optimism. Regulators are interested in CBDCs’ potential benefits, such as improved payment efficiency and financial inclusion. However, Jones also pointed out the inherent challenges and the regulators’ primary focus on mitigating risks.

“There’s no one digital form of digital money to rule them all,” Jones remarked.

Geopolitical Dynamics

The discussion also touched on geopolitical dynamics, with Goldi noting the impact of Europe’s regulations, which require stablecoin issuers to comply with European standards.

“This is leading to a new wave of stablecoin competition, what I call the second stablecoin war,” Goldi remarked.

The panelists reached a consensus that despite the distinct advantages and obstacles associated with stablecoins and CBDCs, continuous advancements are bringing about significant changes in conventional financial systems.