IMF on Stablecoins as Payment System Accelerator

Thansettakij•Economy•17d ago

Reader Briefing

Dan Katz of the IMF discussed the role of stablecoins, their risks for emerging markets, and policy recommendations during a lecture in South Africa.

•Dan Katz delivered a lecture on stablecoins at the University of Cape Town on August 7, 2026.
•Stablecoin market capitalization grew nearly threefold between 2021 and 2025, stabilizing at approximately 300 billion USD.
•The IMF identified risks for emerging markets including dollarization and the circumvention of capital flow management measures.
•Dan Katz proposed five policy guidelines for emerging market policymakers to maintain financial stability.

•Dan Katz delivered a lecture titled "Stablecoins: Promise, Risks, and Policy Choices for Emerging Markets" at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, on August 7, 2026.
•Stablecoin market capitalization grew nearly threefold between 2021 and 2025 and remained at approximately 300 billion USD over the past year, with over 99% pegged to the US dollar.
•Total stablecoin transaction volume exceeded 30 trillion USD in 2025, including 6.1 trillion USD in cross-border transactions.
•Dan Katz noted that Agentic AI could accelerate stablecoin adoption due to programmability and atomic settlement capabilities.
•The ease of accessing US dollar stablecoins may lead to dollarization in emerging markets and facilitate the bypassing of capital flow management measures.
•In countries with weak macro-structures, stablecoins may increase net foreign currency holdings and dollarization if assets move to unhosted wallets.
•Dan Katz proposed five policy paths for emerging markets: maintaining strong macro fundamentals, closing data gaps, revising policy toolkits, tailoring responses, and strengthening international cooperation.
•The IMF supports member countries through surveillance, data analysis, technical assistance, and the G20 Data Gaps Initiative.

Full article content is available on the original source.

Dan Katz(แดน แคทซ์)ℹ️

First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund who delivered a lecture on stablecoins in South Africa.

International Monetary Fund(กองทุนการเงินระหว่างประเทศ)ℹ️

An international organization that analyzes stablecoins and supports member countries through surveillance and technical assistance.

University of Cape Town(มหาวิทยาลัยเคปทาวน์)ℹ️

The institution in South Africa where Dan Katz delivered his lecture on August 7, 2026.

Bank for International Settlements(ธนาคารเพื่อการชำระเงินระหว่างประเทศ)ℹ️

An organization that estimated only 390 billion USD of stablecoin flows are related to actual payments.

South African Reserve Bank(ธนาคารกลางแอฟริกาใต้)ℹ️

A central bank that collects asset data and drafted a crypto-asset guide to understand market structure.

G20(กลุ่ม G20)ℹ️

An international forum whose Data Gaps Initiative the IMF uses to push for data reporting.

South Africa(แอฟริกาใต้)ℹ️

The country where the lecture took place and which provided data on the low popularity of Rand-pegged stablecoins.

El Salvador(เอลซัลวาดอร์)ℹ️

A country where bank loans and deposits continued to expand despite the presence of stablecoins.