Will stablecoin deposits soon be insured against bankruptcy of banks or depositories? In any case, this is a possibility that would be discussed within the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) , one of the leading banking regulators in the United States.
Deposit insurance for stablecoins in the bank?
As American banks begin to offer cryptocurrency deposit wallets, such as the US Bank , the thorny question of counterparty risk arises in the event of bankruptcy of deposit institutions.
According to several anonymous sources cited by CoinDesk, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. would closely study the possibility of stablecoin- type cryptos being eligible for FDIC pass-through insurance.
Even if the discussions are only at a preliminary stage for the moment, the American agency would consider the possibility of extending the cover of 250,000 dollars (valid for cash deposits) to cryptocurrencies backed by assets considered stable, such as the US dollar.
Thus, in the event of bankruptcy of the depositary, the reimbursement of these crypto-assets would be covered up to the maximum amount of this sum for their owner.
A desire to integrate stablecoins into the financial system?
The main objective behind this deposit insurance studied by the FDIC would be to allow the integration of stablecoins into the traditional banking ecosystem:
“This is all part of a process whereby they try to get stablecoins into the banking system in a proper way (…) It would depend on the underlying of the stablecoins in question. If they are backed by cash reserves with the Federal Reserve (Fed), I think it can be said to be a deposit. If it’s backed by Treasury bonds, I think you’ll find it hard to think of it as a deposit. “ .
This could also lead to a distinction at the level of stablecoin issuers, according to Todd Phillips , a former lawyer for the FDIC.
“The FDIC has strict rules as to which institutions can claim to be FDIC insured or use the FDIC logo for its advertising (…) insurance on certain stablecoins and permission to use the FDIC logo would allow to know clearly which stablecoins – up to the limit of the insurance – will not lose value ” .
Given that this is currently only unofficial speculation, it is probably too early to worry about the consequences of such a decision. It must nevertheless be taken into account that stablecoins backed by a maximum of liquid assets, as Circle wishes in particular with its USDC , may sooner or later have a clear competitive advantage, if they obtain the deposit insurance label. of the FDIC.
