Anna Fedorova

American Banker •

Banks must abandon stablecoin plans and focus on blockchain rails

Since last year, banks have been falling over themselves to get involved in the stablecoin gold rush. Standard Chartered already made its first foray in February, while Bank of America's CEO Brian Moynihan said the bank can't wait to issue a stablecoin as soon as it's "legal." When the STABLE and GENIUS stablecoin bills pass in the U.S., we will likely see a huge flurry of competing stablecoins launched by some of the biggest banks.This will be a huge mistake.
Fortune •

Elon Musk wants the U.S. Treasury to be on a blockchain. That's a terrible idea—take it from a big proponent of the technology | Fortune

A month ago, no one could have predicted this. Yet today, we are seriously discussing the U.S. Treasury moving all of its transactions onto a blockchain. As we know, this technology underpins cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, and the proposal is largely thanks to the increasing involvement of crypto advocate Elon Musk in the U.S. government’s affairs.
Fortune •

The markets are starting to realize just how hawkish the Fed is–and reckoning with higher-for-longer interest rates | Fortune

The first Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting of 2024 is behind us and the markets no longer seem convinced that we will see an interest rate cut the next time the 12 committee members meet in March. Some 34% of the market expect a rate cut at the next meeting, down from 73% just one month ago. Indeed, I do not expect the Federal Reserve to start cutting rates until the end of the second quarter–at the earliest.
ETF Stream •

ETF tokenisation: Game changer or fad?

The exploration of the synergies between cryptocurrencies and ETFs dates back to 2017 when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) turned down the first petition to launch a bitcoin spot ETF, kicking off a battle that is yet to be won. Since then, a plethora of crypto ETPs have emerged that provide access to a wide variety of cryptocurrencies. Now, after years of wrapping crypto into ETFs, the industry is trying a new trend on for size – namely, the tokenisation of ETFs.