The FSB’s (
@FinStbBoard) new report to the G20 recognizes stablecoins’ potential to make payments faster, cheaper, and more transparent, expand financial inclusion, and enable 24/7 cross-border transactions.
The report, however, focuses heavily on risks - from runs and reserve pressures to regulatory fragmentation and data gaps. That’s the FSB’s job, and these are legitimate concerns that sound regulation can address.
But the missing piece is a serious assessment of the benefits. The G20’s own cross-border payments roadmap sets ambitious 2027 targets for cost, speed, access, and transparency that the current system is not on track to meet. Stablecoins offer the most credible path to achieving them.
Under the current U.S. G20 presidency and the U.K. presidency to follow, there is an opportunity to put those benefits at the center of the FSB’s work, including through mutual recognition of well-regulated stablecoin issuers based on shared core principles.
Managing risks and unlocking benefits should be part of the same agenda. The G20 should advance both.