Harald Uhlig · 2022 · Working paper · NBER Working Paper 30256
Post-mortem of the May 2022 Terra/UST algorithmic-stablecoin collapse.
Key findings
- Models the UST depeg as a run driven by loss of confidence rather than purely mechanical failure.
- Highlights the fragility of algorithmic stablecoins lacking hard collateral.
Adrien d'Avernas, Vincent Maurin, Quentin Vandeweyer · 2022 · Working paper · Working paper (Becker Friedman Institute / SSRN)
Theoretical analysis of whether fiat-backed stablecoins can remain stable without deposit insurance or a lender of last resort.
Key findings
- Stablecoins are exposed to runs absent a backstop; par stability is not guaranteed by full reserves alone.
- Explores conditions (fees, redemption design) under which a peg can survive stress.
Gordon Y. Liao, John Caramichael · 2022 · Working paper · Federal Reserve International Finance Discussion Papers No. 1334
Fed staff analysis of how stablecoin growth could affect bank funding and credit, depending on reserve design.
Key findings
- Stablecoins backed by commercial-bank deposits or Treasuries have very different effects on credit intermediation.
- A two-tiered / narrow-bank reserve model can preserve credit while supporting stablecoin growth.
Bank for International Settlements · 2022 · Report · BIS Annual Economic Report 2022, Chapter III
The BIS's vision of a future monetary system, assessing stablecoins and crypto against a central-bank-money core.
Key findings
- Argues stablecoins piggyback on the credibility of central-bank money and can fragment the monetary system.
- Positions CBDCs and tokenised central-bank money as the preferred foundation.
Dirk A. Zetzsche, Ross P. Buckley, Douglas W. Arner · 2021 · Journal article · Oxford Journal of Legal Studies
Legal analysis of the regulatory challenges posed by Libra/Diem-style global stablecoins.
Key findings
- A global multi-currency stablecoin raises novel cross-border regulatory-perimeter questions.
- Recommends coordinated, function-based regulation across jurisdictions.
Christian Catalini, Alonso de Gortari, Nihar Shah · 2021 · Working paper · SSRN / Annual Review of Financial Economics
Economic framework for how stablecoins maintain value and the trade-offs across reserve designs.
Key findings
- Frames stablecoin stability as a function of reserve quality, redemption guarantees and market structure.
- Fully-reserved designs trade capital efficiency for credibility.
Gary B. Gorton, Jeffery Y. Zhang · 2021 · Working paper · SSRN Working Paper; later University of Chicago Law Review
Argues stablecoins recreate the instability of the 19th-century 'wildcat' free-banking era and proposes regulating issuers like banks or issuing a CBDC.
Key findings
- Privately produced money that does not trade at par 'no-questions-asked' is inherently run-prone, mirroring pre-1863 wildcat banking.
- Recommends either bringing stablecoin issuers under bank-style regulation and insurance, or introducing a central bank digital currency.
- Frames stablecoins as a monetary-stability question, not merely a consumer-protection one.
Douglas Arner, Raphael Auer, Jon Frost · 2020 · Working paper · BIS Working Papers No. 905
A foundational BIS framework classifying stablecoins by design and reserve model and mapping their risks to regulatory options.
Key findings
- Stablecoins span a spectrum from fully reserved tokenised funds to fractional and algorithmic designs, with materially different risk profiles.
- Regulation should follow a 'same risk, same regulation' principle rather than treating all stablecoins alike.
- Global stablecoins raise cross-border, monetary-sovereignty and financial-stability concerns beyond any single jurisdiction.
Dirk Bullmann, Jonas Klemm, Andrea Pinna · 2019 · Working paper · ECB Occasional Paper No. 230
ECB taxonomy of stablecoins by stabilisation mechanism, assessing whether each can deliver price stability.
Key findings
- Classifies stablecoins into tokenised funds, off-chain and on-chain collateralised, and algorithmic types.
- Argues stability depends on the credibility of the stabilisation mechanism and its governance.