Carstens says stablecoins can coexist with fiat under global rules

The path to that outcome is littered with obstacles. The U.S. Congress is debating the CLARITY Act, which would set federal standards for stablecoin issuers. The European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation comes into full effect next year. Neither piece of law was designed with the other in mind. Carstens stressed the need for global frameworks. The timeline for coordinated rulemaking across the G20 remains uncertain. The Financial Stability Board, which coordinates global crypto policy, issued its recommendations in July 2023. Implementation by member states has been uneven.

Carstens' softening aligns with a broader strategic shift inside the BIS. The institution is now working on a project to link central bank digital currencies with privately issued stablecoins on a common settlement layer, known as Agorá. The project's goal is interoperability, not replacement. Carstens said the success of that effort will depend on whether the private sector and public sector can agree on common standards for reserve assets, redemption rights, and disclosure.

Without such standards, he said, stablecoins will remain a fragmented patchwork of national experiments. That would push innovation to less regulated corners of the industry. Carstens' remarks are likely to be cited by stablecoin lobbyists as evidence that the tide is turning. Whether policy makers deliver on the global frameworks he envisions will be the deciding factor.

The CLARITY Act's Senate vote later this year will offer an early test of whether that global vision can start with U.S. domestic law.