Anchored to what? Payment stablecoins and the central bank balance sheet

Giuseppe Ferrero ()
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Giuseppe Ferrero: Bank of Italy

No 1069, Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) from Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area

Abstract: Payment stablecoins reopen an old question in a new form: whether privately issued money, once it promises redemption at par, can remain safely anchored outside the central bank balance sheet. The answer depends on distinctions that are often compressed into a single question of 'access': direct versus indirect anchoring; the liability versus the asset side of the central bank balance sheet; access versus obligation; and the backing of a token versus the actual timing of convertibility. This paper uses these distinctions to compare the EU's MiCAR, the US GENIUS Act and the Bank of England's regime for systemic sterling stablecoins. It does not argue for one model over the others. Its aim is narrower: to clarify what each model makes safe, what it leaves to markets and intermediaries, and where the remaining fragilities may lie.

Keywords: stablecoins; central bank money; payment systems; singleness of money; convertibility; monetary policy implementation; financial regulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E42 E58 G21 G28 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-10
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_1069_26

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