You may be interested in reading what the IMFBlog had to say about stablecoins.

Here is the conclusion to the authors' two-parts series:

Next step: a central bank digital currency?

If stablecoin providers held client assets at the central bank, clients would indirectly be able to hold, and transact in, central bank liabilities—the essence, after all, of a “central bank digital currency.” In practice, the coins would remain the liability of private issuers, and client assets would have to be protected against the bankruptcy of the stablecoin provider.

This synthetic central bank digital currency—or “sCBDC” for short—offers significant advantages over its full-fledged cousin, which requires getting involved in many of the steps of the payments chain. This can be costly—and risky—for central banks, as it would push them into unfamiliar territory of brand management, app development, technology selection, and customer interaction.

In the sCBDC model, which is a public-private partnership, central banks would focus on their core function: providing trust and efficiency. The private sector, as providers of stablecoins, would be left to satisfy the remaining steps under appropriate supervision and oversight, and to do what they do best: innovate and interact with customers.

Whether central banks jump on board at all is another matter. Each central bank would weigh the pros and cons related to payment system stability, financial inclusion, and cost efficiency as discussed in a recent IMF staff paper. To the extent that central banks wish to offer a digital alternative to cash, they should consider sCBDC as a potentially attractive option.

Will sCBDC turn out to be the central-bank money of the future? One thing is sure: the world of fiat money is in flux, and innovation will transform the landscape of banking and money. You can bet your bottom dollar on it.

https://blogs.imf.org/2019/09/19/digital-currencies-the-rise-of-stablecoins/

https://blogs.imf.org/2019/09/26/from-stablecoins-to-central-bank-digital-currencies/

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