Fed's Waller: Stablecoins could bring benefits to financial system

FILE PHOTO: Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller delivers remarks at a conference at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution in Palo Alto, California, U.S., October 14, 2024. REUTERS/Ann Saphir/File photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Tuesday stablecoins are effectively “synthetic” dollars that can bring benefits to the financial system.

Waller said these digital assets linked to the dollar “could have a lot of potential benefits” and “eliminate” inefficiencies in the financial system, as part of comments before The Clearing House Annual Conference 2024, held in New York. But he said legislation is needed to deal with safety issues as these types of assets are subject to runs that could destabilize the financial system.

(Reporting by Michael S. Derby)