Waller: Effect similar to adopting dollar peg
'Countries would import US funding costs'
Senate debates bill allowing stablecoin interest payments
![Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he could support holding interest rates steady at the next monetary policy meeting if strong employment conditions persist this month. [AP]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/01/news-p.v1.20260224.834a4ead38564d588c14359f7d70580d_P1.jpg)
By Seo Ji-yeon, The Herald Business
A senior Federal Reserve official said the global spread of stablecoins could significantly expand the reach of US monetary policy, as countries using dollar-backed stablecoins would in effect import American interest rates and funding costs.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller, speaking at a conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on Friday, said countries that adopt a stablecoin regime are doing something similar to adopting a dollar peg.
"Adopting countries would essentially be importing US funding costs," Waller said. "The more a country uses stablecoins, the greater the reach of US monetary policy."
Stablecoins are virtual assets designed to minimize price volatility by pegging their value to a specific currency such as the dollar. Issuers typically hold safe assets such as US government bonds as reserves to maintain that peg.
In a public speech on stablecoins in February last year, Waller said roughly 99 percent of stablecoin supply is backed by dollar-denominated assets, adding that the instruments could play an important role in sustaining and expanding the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency.
His latest remarks came as the US Congress moves to formalize a regulatory framework for digital assets.
The Senate Banking Committee approved the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act — known as the CLARITY Act — earlier this month and sent it to the full Senate floor.
The bill would classify cryptocurrency tokens as either securities or commodities and clarify the supervisory authority of the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Particularly closely watched is a provision that would allow stablecoin holders to receive yield-style interest payments. Most stablecoin issuers currently keep the interest earned on reserve assets for themselves, but if the bill passes, users could receive a direct share of those returns.
The virtual assets industry believes the bill could clear Congress as early as July.
sjy@heraldcorp.com
