Stablecoin Rules Are a Hot Topic for People in Money Markets
- Funds face new round of SEC clampdowns to avert market turmoil
- Stablecoin issuers hold similar assets, face fewer disclosures
This article is for subscribers only.
Money-market funds -- facing a third round of industry clampdowns since the financial crisis -- are wondering whether Washington should pay more attention to less transparent investment vehicles to avert turmoil in short-term lending markets.
Cryptocurrency stablecoins, for example, are often backed by assets including Treasury bills and short-term corporate IOUs. They have been referred to as money-fund-like instruments, but aren’t held to the same disclosures and requirements as the $4.5 trillion industry, according to some money managers speaking at the Crane’s Money Fund Symposium in Minneapolis on Tuesday. That mismatch could pose a risk to financial market stability with digital-asset prices tumbling, they say.