① Conot warned that stablecoin issuers hold a large amount of U.S. Treasury bonds, which is an area that must be closely monitored; ② U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent reiterated on Wednesday that the scale of U.S. dollar stablecoins could reach 2 trillion dollars in the coming years, and it is possible that it may far exceed this level.
Cailian Press, June 12 (Editor: Shi Zhengcheng) closely following the issuance of crypto stablecoins. $Circle (CRCL.US)$ The surge in IPOs in U.S. stocks ignited by the listing has led Financial Stability Council (FSB) Chairman Klaas Conot to once again warn that the risks posed by crypto assets may soon pose a serious threat to the financial system.
The Financial Stability Board was established in April 2009 as a specialized international organization set up after the G20 London Financial Summit, responsible for regulating the global financial system and providing recommendations, as well as monitoring and proposing advice on the global financial system.
Local time on Thursday, in his opening remarks at the 5th Financial Stability Conference, he stated: "The Financial Stability Board has long believed that crypto assets do not yet pose systemic risks, but recent developments suggest we may be approaching a critical point."
He specifically pointed out that the issuers of stablecoins currently hold a large amount of U.S. treasury bonds, which is an area that must be closely monitored. Additionally, with the launch of Currency ETFs, the threshold for retail users to participate in the "crypto world" has been significantly lowered, increasing its correlation with the traditional financial system. As the crypto ecosystem continues to evolve, the regulatory framework must also evolve in tandem.
As background, stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency. Unlike assets like Bitcoin, which fluctuate dramatically with market sentiment, stablecoins are tied to the underlying assets (currently mainly the U.S. dollar and U.S. treasury bonds) and theoretically should always maintain a fixed value. One of the reasons that has recently attracted market attention is that the U.S. Congress is advancing legislation to regulate stablecoins, which may pass as soon as August.
Konot will end his term as Governor of the Netherlands Bank and Chairman of the Financial Stability Committee on June 30. At that time, the Governor of the Bank of England, Bailey, will take over the chairmanship of the Financial Stability Committee.
Coincidentally, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent cited forecasts during a congressional hearing on Wednesday, stating that the market cap of dollar stablecoins could reach $2 trillion in the next few years, and also remarked that "the actual size is expected to far exceed this level."
This is precisely the reason for Konot's concerns. At last weekend's G30 meeting, he elaborated on worries about the impact of stablecoins on the financial system, especially the concern over a potential crash of stablecoins triggering a sell-off of short-term treasury bonds.
Konot stated in his speech that stablecoins issued by private institutions, which have recourse to the issuers, are essentially similar to bank deposits but often exist outside the framework of bank deposits.
He stated: "If there is a lack of strict regulation, could these reserves be used for high-risk investments, turning stablecoins into a conduit for leveraging the financial system? This is not alarmism. We have witnessed how financial instruments with lax regulation can amplify rather than mitigate risks. Given the large investments of major stablecoins in the short-term financing market, their potential run risk could affect financial stability. The correlation between stablecoins and the traditional financial system is rapidly increasing."
Connot pointed out that this emphasizes the importance of the principle of "same Business, same risk, same regulation." If stablecoins perform the same economic functions as traditional financial instruments, they should adhere to equivalent regulatory standards.
Editor/rice
