Web3 New Tale of Two Cities: Stablecoins and Money Market Funds

By: blockbeats|2025/03/31 07:00:03
Teilen
copy
Original Article Title: Stablecoins and the parallels with Money Market Funds
Original Article Authors: @shawnwlim, @artichokecap Founders
Original Article Translation: zhouzhou, BlockBeats

Editor's Note: The regulatory dispute over stablecoins bears resemblance to the experience of Money Market Funds (MMFs) half a century ago. MMFs were initially designed for corporate cash management but faced criticism due to lack of deposit insurance and vulnerability to runs, impacting bank stability and monetary policy. Nevertheless, MMF assets now exceed $7.2 trillion. The 2008 financial crisis led to the collapse of the Reserve Fund, and in 2023, the SEC is still pushing for MMF regulatory reform. The history of MMFs suggests that stablecoins may face similar regulatory challenges but could ultimately become a crucial part of the financial system.

The following is the original content (slightly edited for readability):

Stablecoins are exciting, and the upcoming stablecoin legislation in the US represents a rare opportunity to upgrade the existing financial system. Those studying financial history will notice parallels between it and the invention and development of Money Market Funds about half a century ago.

Money Market Funds were invented in the 1970s as a cash management solution, primarily for corporates. At that time, US banks were prohibited from paying interest on balances in checking accounts, and corporations were often unable to maintain savings accounts. If a business wanted to earn interest on idle cash, they had to buy US Treasuries, engage in repurchase agreements, invest in commercial paper, or certificates of deposit. Managing cash was a cumbersome and operationally intensive process.

The design of Money Market Funds was to maintain a stable share value, with each share pegged at $1. The Reserve Fund, Inc. was the first MMF. Launched in 1971, it was introduced as "a convenient alternative for investing temporary cash balances," which would typically be placed in money market instruments like Treasuries, commercial paper, bank acceptances, or CDs, with an initial asset size of $1 million.

Other investment giants quickly followed suit: Dreyfus (now part of BNYglobal), Fidelity, Vanguard_Group. In the 1980s, almost half of Vanguard's legendary mutual fund business growth was attributable to its Money Market Fund.

Web3 New Tale of Two Cities: Stablecoins and Money Market Funds

During his tenure as Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987, Paul Volcker was highly critical of Money Market Funds (MMFs). He continued his criticism of MMFs as late as 2011.

Today, many of the criticisms raised by policymakers against stablecoins echo those from half a century ago against Money Market Funds:

· Systemic Risk and Banking Safety Concerns: MMFs lack deposit insurance and a lender of last resort mechanism, unlike insured banks. Because of this, MMFs are susceptible to rapid runs, which could exacerbate financial instability and lead to contagion. There are also concerns that deposits shifting from insured banks to MMFs could weaken the banking sector as banks lose their low-cost and stable deposit base.

· Unfair Regulatory Arbitrage: MMFs provide bank-like services, maintaining a stable $1 share price, but without rigorous regulatory oversight or capital requirements.

· Weakening of Monetary Policy Transmission Mechanism: MMFs could weaken the Fed's monetary policy tools, as traditional monetary policy instruments like bank reserves are less effective when funds flow from banks to MMFs.

Today, MMFs have financial assets exceeding $7.2 trillion. For reference, M2 (excluding MMF assets) is $21.7 trillion.

In the late 1990s, the rapid growth in MMF assets was a result of financial deregulation (the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, fueling a wave of financial innovation), while the prosperity of the internet facilitated better electronic and online trading systems, speeding up fund inflows into MMFs.

Do you see a pattern here? (I would like to point out that even half a century later, the regulatory struggle around MMFs is far from over. The SEC adopted MMF reforms in 2023, including raising minimum liquidity requirements and removing fund manager restrictions on investor redemptions.)

Unfortunately, the Reserve Fund met its end after the 2008 financial crisis. It held some Lehman Brothers debt securities, which were written down to zero, leading to the fund's breaking of the buck event and significant redemptions.

Original Article Link

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen

WEEXPERIENCE Whales Night: KI-Handel, Krypto-Community und Krypto-Markteinblicke

Am 12. Dezember 2025 veranstaltete WEEX die WEEXPERIENCE Whales Night, ein Offline-Gemeinschaftstreffen, das lokale Kryptowährungs-Communitymitglieder zusammenbringen sollte. Die Veranstaltung kombinierte Content Sharing, interaktive Spiele und Projektpräsentationen, um ein entspanntes und dennoch ansprechendes Offline-Erlebnis zu schaffen.

AI Trading Risk in Kryptowährung: Warum können bessere Krypto-Handelsstrategien größere Verluste verursachen?

Risiko sitzt nicht mehr in erster Linie in schlechten Entscheidungen oder emotionalen Fehlern. Sie lebt zunehmend in Marktstruktur, Ausführungswegen und kollektivem Verhalten. Diesen Wandel zu verstehen ist wichtiger als die nächste „bessere“ Strategie zu finden.

KI-Agenten ersetzen Kryptoforschung? Wie autonome KI den Kryptohandel verändert

KI entwickelt sich von der Unterstützung von Händlern zur Automatisierung des gesamten Research-to-Execution-Prozesses in Kryptomärkten. Der Vorsprung hat sich von menschlichen Erkenntnissen hin zu Datenpipelines, Geschwindigkeit und ausführungsbereiten KI-Systemen verlagert, wodurch Verzögerungen bei der KI-Integration zu einem Wettbewerbsnachteil werden.

AI Trading Bots und Copy Trading: Wie synchronisierte Strategien die Volatilität des Kryptomarktes verändern

Krypto-Händler im Einzelhandel stehen seit langem vor denselben Herausforderungen: schlechtes Risikomanagement, späte Einstiege, emotionale Entscheidungen und inkonsequente Ausführung. KI-Handelstools versprachen eine Lösung. Heute helfen KI-gestützte Copy-Trading-Systeme und Breakout-Bots Händlern, Positionen zu vergrößern, Stopps zu setzen und schneller als je zuvor zu handeln. Über Geschwindigkeit und Präzision hinaus verändern diese Tools die Märkte im Stillen – Trader handeln nicht nur intelligenter, sie bewegen sich synchron und schaffen eine neue Dynamik, die sowohl Risiken als auch Chancen verstärkt.

AI Trading in Crypto Erklärt: Wie autonomer Handel Kryptomärkte und Kryptobörsen verändert

KI-Handel verändert die Krypto-Landschaft rasant. Traditionelle Strategien haben Schwierigkeiten, mit der Nonstop-Volatilität und komplexen Marktstruktur von Krypto Schritt zu halten, während KI massive Daten verarbeiten, adaptive Strategien generieren, Risiken managen und Trades autonom ausführen kann. Dieser Artikel führt WEEX-Nutzer durch, was KI-Handel ist, warum Krypto seine Einführung beschleunigt, wie sich die Branche hin zu autonomen Agenten entwickelt und warum WEEX das KI-Handelsökosystem der nächsten Generation aufbaut.

Aufruf zur Teilnahme an AI Wars: WEEX Alpha Awakens — Globaler KI-Handelswettbewerb mit 880.000 US-Dollar Preispool

Jetzt rufen wir KI-Händler aus aller Welt dazu auf, sich AI Wars anzuschließen: WEEX Alpha Awakens, ein globaler KI-Handelswettbewerb mit 880.000 US-Dollar Preispool.

Beliebte Coins

Neueste Krypto-Nachrichten

Mehr lesen