Circle CEO warns of active and accelerating de-dollarization

The United States must capitalize on the “high demand” for digitally native U.S. dollars, particularly from those in emerging economies with weak local banking systems, the Circle CEO says.

The United States must implement stablecoin legislation and digitize the U.S. dollar to mitigate the “very active de-dollarization taking place” around the world right now, says Jeremy Allaire, the CE of stablecoin issuer Circle.

Allaire’s comments at the Consensus 2023 conference on April 26 were made in light of the recent U.S. banking crisis.

The CEO of Circle — the stablecoin issuer behind USD Coin (USDC) — called on Congress and the Federal Reserve to take action, saying that otherwise, alternative currencies and payment systems would continue to eat into the dollar’s dominance:

“We have a very active de-dollarization taking place. You’re having very significant reactions to the U.S. risks in the U.S. banking system, risks with the U.S. government itself, a geopolitical imposition on many parts of the world [and] the desire for alternative payment systems all around the world.”

“This is happening and it’s accelerating,” he added.

For the USD to remain “competitive” and “safe” in the internet era, Allaire said the U.S. needs to lay out stablecoin legislation imminently, and the Federal Reserve needs to implement the digital dollar into its “core systems” to capitalize on the high demand around the world:

“The demand for digital dollars like USDC is highly global. We see that demand all around the world — we see it in emerging markets, we see it in markets where people want to hold a digital dollar versus their local banking system […] as an efficient medium of exchange for various types of international transactions.”

If we want to make the dollar safer and more competitive, we need to do two things:
– unleash it’s power as a native data type on the internet, that can be openly used and integrated
– remove the underlying bank lending IOU risk on electronic money, and separate payment tokens… https://t.co/DThvu8Dt25

— Jeremy Allaire (@jerallaire) April 26, 2023

If the U.S. government doesn’t get its act together, this will be a “giant missed opportunity” for the country, Allaire stressed.

Related: US Bank collapse — Is crypto being targeted?

The call for action comes as the Chinese yuan overtook the dollar for cross-border transactions in China for the first time in March, according to Reuters.

Chinese Yuan overtakes US dollar as most-used currency in China’s cross-border transactions for the first time in history.

Yuan-share rose to a record high of 48%, UP from nearly zero in 2010. 

U.S-share declined to 47%, DOWN from 83% over the same period.

Wow. pic.twitter.com/Lm3Rygpm45

— Genevieve Roch-Decter, CFA (@GRDecter) April 26, 2023

Circle has taken some responsibility into its own hands of late, having launched USDC on Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol.

Allaire said the new solution is the “most important new piece of blockchain infrastructure” since the firm began minting and issuing USDC in 2017.

Magazine: Unstablecoins: Depegging, bank runs and other risks loom