The stablecoin boom won’t continue without decentralized

On Nov 14, 2021

Stablecoins are the cornerstone of the digital asset marketplace with a market cap of over $100 billion. Governments are already putting considerable resources in being up to speed with the trends. A November 2021 report published by the United States President’s Working Group on Financial Markets details the various measures to ensure stablecoin regulation is implemented within government guidelines. A global central bank survey by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) shows 86% of central banks are now actively engaged in some way with central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), a government-backed form of a stablecoin. Of this cohort of central banks, seven have now officially launched CBDCs, while 17 more are in the pilot phase, according to the Atlantic Council CBDC tracker.

Like all cryptocurrencies, stablecoins rely on blockchain technology to support peer-to-peer (P2P) digital transactions, giving them the bearer-instrument and final-settlement properties of cash. This underlying decentralized infrastructure holds promises such as faster transactions, lower settlement costs, enhanced transparency and increased control for end-users.

Sergey Gorbunov is the co-founder and CEO of Axelar, the decentralized interoperability network that connects blockchain ecosystems. He received a Ph.D. from MIT, where he was a Microsoft (NASDAQ:) Ph.D. fellow. Sergey is a co-author of many cryptographic protocols, standards and systems. He was also on the founding team of Algorand, where he worked on the core platform design and development and led the cryptography group.

Tai Panich is chief venture and Investment Officer at SCB 10X, the digital technology investment arm of Siam Commercial Bank (OTC:), the largest and oldest bank in Thailand. She has over 20 years of experience working in the technology investment sector in Silicon Valley, New York and Singapore. Her expertise is investing in technology companies (both private and public), especially in fintech, blockchain and DeFi, deep tech (AI, robotics, semiconductor, enterprise software and hardware, and internet/media). Prior to this role, Tai was a portfolio manager at Pictet Asset Management, where she invests in publicly-listed technology companies globally with focus on Asia.