Central banks more likely to use stablecoins than unbacked crypto: Wilkins
BNN Bloomberg
The former deputy governor of the Bank of Canada said she thinks stablecoins have more potential when it comes to central bank adoption than unbacked cryptocurrencies.
The former deputy governor of the Bank of Canada said she thinks stablecoins have more potential when it comes to central bank adoption than unbacked cryptocurrencies.
“You need to have transparency and assurance about the quality of those assets,” said Carolyn Wilkins, now a member of the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee.
“I think the assets that are unbacked, the value there is that people believe more people will continue to buy it. Those assets don’t have any intrinsic value, and their mechanism for securing a stable value is, in my mind, not a credible one.”
There are more than 50 central banks around the world currently researching their own cryptocurrencies, including the Canadian and English central banks, as the usefulness of cash in transactions is falling, said Wilkins.
Her comments come not long after El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender. Newly elected New York City Mayor Eric Adams is also seeking to bring legitimacy to the nascent asset class, and wants to make New York City a cryptocurrency hub, even proposing to pay municipal workers in crypto.
Wilkins said digital currencies and block chain technology have great potential to provide financial products that are better for consumers and businesses, but cautions that regulating the so-called cryptosphere is an arduous task.
