Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, is skeptical about traditional financial institutions successfully entering the stablecoin market. He expressed concerns on X about major banks’ ability to capture significant market share in this sector.
His remarks come in response to recent comments by Bank of America (BofA) CEO Brian Moynihan, who revealed on February 25 that the bank is considering launching a US dollar-pegged stablecoin once regulators establish a clear legal framework. The announcement has sparked widespread debate within the cryptocurrency community.
While some view the move as a step toward mainstream adoption of digital assets, others are concerned that bank-issued stablecoins could resemble central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) under a different name. “So are they going to just ‘rebrand’ CBDCs and call them ‘stablecoins’?” one user questioned on X. Another commentator echoed similar concerns, suggesting the initiative “sounds CBDC-ish.”
Digital asset researcher Anderson highlighted that the key difference between stablecoins and CBDCs is that a CBDC is a liability of the central bank. In contrast, a stablecoin is a liability of its issuer. Concerns about centralized stablecoins align with recent US government policies, including an executive order from former President Trump that supports dollar-backed stablecoins while banning a US CBDC. As Bank of America considers entering the stablecoin market, there are worries about the impact on Tether (USDT), the largest stablecoin, with speculations that Tether could face stricter regulations than other US stablecoins.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino expressed concerns about the changing regulatory landscape, describing it as “very troubling.” He suggested that new stablecoin legislation could hinder market competition. Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski also warned that the regulatory push might impact Bitcoin’s price and undermine confidence in the overall crypto sector.
Meanwhile, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire recently urged tighter regulatory oversight, calling for all issuers of dollar-pegged digital assets to be registered within the United States.
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