Researchers from the Federal Reserve System (Fed) of the United States, Kristen Payne and Mary-Frances Styczynski, proposed a new approach on September 4 to integrate stablecoins into the country's monetary statistics. Their research claims that stablecoins used for everyday transactions could be classified within the M1 aggregate, while the use of stablecoins for short-term value storage may indicate their inclusion in the M2 aggregate. Currently, stablecoins do not fall into these categories, but their potential future inclusion will depend on the specific ways they are used by households and businesses.
The study examines various assets, such as stablecoins, tokenized bank deposits, and tokenized money markets. For example, tokenized bank deposits are already adapted to existing monetary aggregates as they remain legal deposits in traditional banks. Payne and Styczynski emphasize that their work is not an official Fed decision but reflects their personal opinions. They note the need for standardized reporting to avoid the risks of data duplication and accurately reflect the global volume of stablecoins.
The challenges of including stablecoins in the aggregates are related to the need to account for the reserves backing the number of tokens in circulation. These reserves may contain assets that are already recorded in monetary statistics. Therefore, before stablecoins can be added to M1 or M2, a consistent methodology will be required to assess their usage. The popularity of stablecoins is increasing, and the Fed may consider the possibility of classifying them in the future based on their use in payments and short-term savings.