Richard K. Lyons, Ganesh Viswanath-Natraj · 2023 · Journal article · Journal of International Money and Finance (NBER WP 27136)
Empirical study of the arbitrage mechanism that holds fiat-backed stablecoins near their peg.
Key findings
- Peg deviations are corrected mainly through the primary market (mint/redeem by authorised participants).
- Access to primary-market arbitrage strengthened peg stability over time.
Igor Makarov, Antoinette Schoar · 2022 · Working paper · Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (NBER WP 30006)
Survey of crypto and DeFi market structure, including the central role of stablecoins as settlement assets.
Key findings
- Stablecoins are the primary settlement and collateral asset across crypto and DeFi.
- DeFi remains highly interconnected and reliant on a few large stablecoins.
John M. Griffin, Amin Shams · 2020 · Journal article · The Journal of Finance, Vol. 75(4)
A high-profile empirical study associating Tether (USDT) issuance with support of Bitcoin prices during the 2017 run-up.
Key findings
- Finds patterns consistent with Tether being issued and used to support Bitcoin prices during downturns in 2017.
- Raises questions about whether issuance was fully backed by reserves.
- Became foundational to concerns about stablecoin reserve transparency and market impact.
Tobias Adrian, Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli · 2019 · Report · IMF FinTech Note No. 19/01
Introduces a taxonomy of money and argues privately issued digital money (e-money / stablecoins) could rapidly displace bank deposits.
Key findings
- Proposes a taxonomy distinguishing e-money/stablecoins from bank deposits and central-bank money.
- Adoption of e-money could be rapid via network effects and erode bank deposit funding (disintermediation).
- Coins the risk of 'digital dollarization' in economies with weak currencies.