Bank of Italy Finds No Systemic Advantages of Stablecoins in Transfers
A study by the Bank of Italy found that stablecoins do not offer a consistent advantage in cost or speed for cross-border money transfers. The research compared sending 200 USDC in 10 bilateral corridors (Italy to Brazil, Argentina, Japan, UAE, and South Africa) against standard money transfer services. While the final cost of stablecoin transfers ranged from 0.3% to nearly 9%, and were often cheaper than the global average cost of 6.65%, they only outperformed services like Wise in three out of seven comparable corridors. Key costs and delays were attributed to fees for converting to and from fiat currency and the quality of local payment infrastructure, not blockchain fees. Transfer times varied from under 20 minutes in corridors with instant payment systems to one or two business days where such infrastructure was lacking. The authors concluded that stablecoins' benefits would be more significant if they could be spent directly without conversion and noted that overly restrictive regulations complicate retail use without eliminating demand.
cryptonews.ru18小时前
