The daily peg
Could this be the euro's moment? Plus, I take part in many stablecoin debates.
Industry news
Tether Backs Ark Labs With $5.2M Seed Round To Build Stablecoin And Programmable Finance Infrastructure On Bitcoin
MoonPay Offers Stablecoin Bonuses To Athletes In New X Games League Partnership
https://decrypt.co/360762/moonpay-offers-stablecoin-bonuses-athletes-x-games-league-push
Circle Gives AI Agents $30,000 in USDC to Run Autonomous Hackathon
Analysis
Stablecoins Increasingly Used In Illicit Amazon Gold Trade, Report Finds
https://decrypt.co/360887/stablecoins-have-increasing-relevance-in-illicit-amazon-gold-trade-gi-toc
https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/illicit-gold-trafficking-to-venezuela-and-the-implications-of-us-action/
“Once inside Venezuela, gold is monetised through opaque and often state-linked channels. Brazilian law-enforcement officials report that high-ranking military officials based in the Orinoco Mining Arc purchase the bulk of illicit gold entering from Brazil. Some gold from Guyana is reportedly sold in exchange for Tether (USDT), highlighting the growing role of cryptocurrency in sanction-evasion and gold laundering.”
Global Initiative, Shifting Amazon Gold Flows Report
Chainalysis’ Take on The FATF’s Targeted Stablecoin Report Highlights That Stablecoins Now Dominate Illicit Crypto Transactions
“A significant takeaway from the report, based on our latest findings, is the scale of this shift: by 2025, stablecoins accounted for 84% of all illicit virtual asset transaction volume. As a result, the FATF is increasingly focusing on the risks associated with “secondary market” activity, particularly peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions via unhosted wallets outside of regulated intermediaries. While the ability to hold and transfer stablecoins directly is a core feature of blockchain technology, the FATF emphasizes that this same autonomy creates a “visibility gap” that requires new approaches to risk mitigation.”
Chainalysis
Research
An Opening For The Euro: Eichengreen, Mehl, And Vansteenkiste Argue Global Dollar Uncertainty Creates An Opportunity For The Euro
https://cepr.org/publications/dp21265
The authors argue that recent geopolitical tensions and policy uncertainty in the United States may create an opening for the euro to expand its international role, though success would require Europe to deepen financial markets, expand euro-based payment infrastructure, and increase the supply of euro-denominated safe assets.
The euro area already starts from a position of strength: TARGET services provide a state-of-the-art platform for large-value payments and securities settlement; the Target Instant Payment Settlement system (TIPS) enables instant payments in central bank money; and the Single European Payments Area (SEPA) has created a harmonised framework for retail credit transfers and direct debits across much of Europe. Building on these foundations, closer interconnection between euro area systems and foreign payment infrastructures, including through projects focusing on cross-border instant payments and interoperability between central bank digital currencies, can further embed the euro in global financial plumbing. By making it simpler, faster and safer to settle international transactions in euros, such interlinkages would support a broader and more durable international role for the single currency.”
”An ambitious step [towards making the euro more international] would involve increasing the supply of safe euro-denominated assetsthrough a blend of financial engineering of existing national claims and common borrowing to fund European-wide public goods, such as defense. Moreover, in today’s turbulent geopolitical climate, strengthening the euro’s global role requires Europe to develop a significantly more cohesive and forceful foreign and security policy.”
Eichengreen, Mehl, And Vansteenkiste
Deep thoughts
Brendan Greeley, Iñaki Aldasor and I Debate Stablecoins In This Year’s Money View Symposium
Brent Johnson, Michael Every, John Butler, Whitney Baker, and I, Participate in a Wide Ranging Debate That Touches on Stablecoin Statecraft