Morgan Stanley says the dollar is threatened by BTC and CBDC

What’s new? Investment bank Morgan Stanley has said the threat to the dominance of the dollar from cryptocurrencies. According to the head of digital assets at Morgan Stanley Andrew Peel, a shift in the perception and use of bitcoin and national cryptocurrencies (CBDC) is able to shake the leadership of the dollar. He specified that this process has accelerated significantly with the launch of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US market.

Andrew Peel’s report

What else is known? Peel also noted that bitcoin is showing an astounding rate of global adoption. The coin was launched in 2009, and to date, 106 million people around the world own BTC, and bitcoin ATMs have already been installed in more than 80 countries. According to the crowdsourcing platform BTC Map, the number of companies accepting bitcoin payments has tripled in a year.

Speaking about CBDCs, Peel noted that this type of asset will enable fast cross-border payments without the need for a common currency. For example, central bank digital currencies have the potential to establish a common standard for external payments that will eliminate reliance on intermediaries such as SWIFT and dominant currencies, particularly the dollar.

In addition, CBDCs can bring innovation to the financial services sector through the use of smart contracts to automate payments, “making the concept of programmable money a practical reality,” Peel added.

Earlier, OMFIF experts, following the results of the study, also stated that central banks around the world are considering the possibility of issuing their own cryptocurrencies as a way to protect against the dominance of the dollar.

Separately, Peel mentioned stablecoins with a dollar peg, which, unlike bitcoin and CBDC, can have a positive impact on the underlying asset. In his opinion, stablecoins will be a useful addition to the global financial system.

Earlier, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire predicted that the US authorities will adopt laws to regulate stablecoins as early as this year in order to maintain leadership in the global economy.