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Comment by lottin

5 months ago

Why would a stablecoin granting yield keep the banking system from working?

The theory, at least, is that everyone would eventually be incentivized to move deposits out of the banking system and into this.

(I am not sufficiently expert here to comment on the odds of an outcome like that)

  • Considering that stablecoins don't pay interest to the holder, I don't know why anyone would be incentivised to move their funds into stablecoins.

    • USDC gets me 4% on Coinbase, and USDB and other Bridge-issued custom stablecoins also give the customer rewards that they can pass onto the holder (thanks to MMF/similar cash equivalents behind the scenes etc).

      But yes - this is why banks want to prevent stablecoin issuers from being allowed to grant rewards

      3 replies →

  • In that case, wouldnt sp500 or vanguard be bigger risks to banks existing?

    I think most people think banks make money by holding your money and giving you some interest when they actually make money by bringing money into existance out of nowhere when they issue mortgages.

    • I don't see why not - I'm sure the banks (or others more expert than me) would argue for stablecoins being somehow distinct in this regard, but yeah don't know why eg. Vanguard wouldn't also be a credible cause of deposit flight.

      (I do vaguely remember reading that banks were concerned about people moving to money-market fund products that had bank-like functionality)