10x bigger than Bitcoin, Tether, and Gold: China’s Central Bank Digital Currency will dwarf them all

China is pushing Hong Kong as a global hub for Stablecoins, which are digital currencies backed by fiat money.

Western analysts correctly point out that China, uniquely among large economies, is aggressively building out the financial infrastructure and regulation for digital currencies, issued by the central bank. But these analyses err on a major point: the stablecoins issued by Hong Kong institutions will not be China-yuan denominated, as they assume. Instead, they will be denominated in US dollars, and will be a powerful driver of economic growth to the benefit of the Chinese financial system, and without exposing their own currency to outside speculators, seizure, or debt issuance.

To see how this may play out, consider the explosive growth of Tether, a stablecoin with stated US dollar reserves of $116 billion and 1-to-1 parity with the US dollar. The sudden rise and global acceptance of Tether serve as a playbook for Chinese banking regulators, who are sitting on nearly $4 trillion in US dollar reserves, with hopes to deploy these deep capital pools but without exposure to the Western banking system.

Resources and links:

Reuters, Tether’s $100 billion stokes stablecoin stability concerns
https://www.reuters.com/technology/tethers-100-bln-stokes-stablecoin-stability-concerns-2024-03-05/

Learn how Tether (USDT) Makes Money
https://www.markets.com/education-centre/how-tether-usdt-makes-money/#
Inside the Russian Shadow Trade for Weapons Parts, Fueled by Crypto

Hong Kong to increase digital asset regulation in next 18 months, with focus on stablecoins
https://coingeek.com/hong-kong-to-increase-digital-asset-regulation-in-next-18-months-with-focus-on-stablecoins/

Tether’s Ascent: Breaking Down the Dominant Stablecoin’s Growth
https://coinmetrics.substack.com/p/state-of-the-network-issue-243

Forbes, The House Bans The Fed From Building A CBDC Like The Digital Yuan
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/05/23/the-house-bans-the-fed-from-building-a-cbdc-like-the-digital-yuan/

Reuters, What and where are Russia’s $300 billion in reserves frozen in the West?
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/what-where-are-russias-300-billion-reserves-frozen-west-2023-12-28/

China contends for the central position in the global economy
https://merics.org/en/6-china-contends-central-position-global-economy

ASEAN: The ultimate winner of a China-US rivalry (Part I)
https://www.thinkchina.sg/economy/asean-ultimate-winner-china-us-rivalry-part-i

Tether Stablecoin Home Page
https://tether.to/en/

Closing scene, Hong Kong

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