BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR
From rural Tipperary to running Stripe, a $100 billion payments giant, Patrick Collison is a proud Irish success story. In March he told a US congressional committee that stablecoin, a digital currency tied to real money like the dollar or euro, could make the US dollar the top dog in global trade.
Unlike volatile cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, stablecoin promises fast, cheap payments.
Collison said they’d allow American firms to sell goods, pay workers abroad and sign deals in unstable economies without touching foreign cash.
Stripe, managing $1.4 trillion in payments yearly, is betting big on stablecoin, spending $1.1 billion to buy Bridge, a stablecoin platform. Now, US banks like JP Morgan and tech giants like Amazon are diving in with crypto, which is appearing in pensions and investment funds.
For Ireland this looks like America is trying to dominate the digital money game. Just days after Collison’s speech, Philip Lane, an Irish economist at the European Central Bank, spoke in Cork warning that private stablecoin could spark financial chaos like the “wildcat banks” of old that issued their own money.
He’s pushing for a digital euro controlled by the ECB to keep Europe in charge. He’s right to worry, as stablecoin has crashed before.
In 2022, Terra’s $40 billion collapse rocked the crypto world and USDC dropped to 87 cents during a US bank failure, only saved by a government bailout. The Bank for International Settlements backs Lane’s warning that stablecoin is not real money without central bank support and could destabilise finance if unchecked.
Europe’s fighting back with MiCA, whose rules keep “crypto safe and not flashy”. Ireland’s Central Bank, under Gabriel Makhlouf, is cautious, approving just one crypto licence (to Kraken) while reviewing others. Makhlouf sees stablecoin’s potential but slams crypto’s wild swings.
Unnerved by US law, the EU is now fast-tracking a digital euro, possibly on public blockchains like Ethereum to compete with dollar-based coins.
They fear America’s stablecoin could flood Europe and weaken the euro. Ireland is in a unique spot, as stablecoin could cut costs for our emigrants sending money home or help businesses trade faster.
Pat Lardner of the Irish Funds Industry warns that if we don’t act, jobs could slip to Luxembourg.
Ireland has got the talent — think Stripe’s roots and a thriving fintech scene. Stablecoin could transform payments, letting you shop or trade without Visa or Apple Pay, but America’s apparent reckless approach invites trouble.
Europe’s careful regulation protects our money and keeps US dominance at bay. So, let’s “blend Silicon Valley’s spark with Ireland’s common sense”. That’s how we can lead in this digital cash race without risking another financial fiasco.
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