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Stablecoins, Central Bank Digital Currencies and US Dollar Hegemony: The Geopolitical Stake of Innovations in Money and Payments

Author

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  • Fantacci Luca

    (Research Unit MINTS (Monetary Innovation, New Technologies and Society), Baffi Carefin, Università Bocconi, Milano, Italy)

  • Gobbi Lucio

    (Università di Trento, Trento, Italy)

Abstract

Stablecoins are second generation cryptocurrencies, aimed at maintaining their value stable with respect to official currencies. The most famous example is perhaps represented by libra, the cryptocurrency announced by Facebook in 2019 and yet to be issued; the most widespread is tether, with a market capitalization of almost 10 billion dollars and a daily transaction volume of almost 50 billion dollars, which makes it the most used cryptocurrency. The diffusion of stablecoins is hardly surprising. By minimizing volatility – the main flaw of first generation cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin –, stablecoins are expected to play an even more important role on a global scale within a few years. Our contribution deals not with the economic, but specifically with the geopolitical factors that could foster the use of stablecoins for strategic and military purposes. In particular, we focus on how such payment instruments, together with other alternative electronic payment systems, could be used as a means to circumvent economic sanctions and ultimately as a challenge to the hegemony of the US dollar in the international monetary system.

Suggested Citation

  • Fantacci Luca & Gobbi Lucio, 2024. "Stablecoins, Central Bank Digital Currencies and US Dollar Hegemony: The Geopolitical Stake of Innovations in Money and Payments," Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium, De Gruyter, vol. 14(2), pages 173-200, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:aelcon:v:14:y:2024:i:2:p:173-200:n:2
    DOI: 10.1515/ael-2020-0053
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    stablecoins; cryptocurrencies; international monetary system; economic warfare; economic sanctions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E50 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - General
    • F51 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Conflicts; Negotiations; Sanctions
    • F52 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - National Security; Economic Nationalism

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