Banks must build their own stablecoin to counter big tech

Banks must build their own stablecoin to counter big tech

The big five, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Google (FAAMG) are continuing to chip away at the banks.

Facebook has announced Libra, a stablecoin to be used for payment in WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Libra is a stablecoin pegged to a basket of traditional currencies to minimize fluctuation of its value.

Banks must realize who their real competitors are and form new alliances to address these new threats.

Instant, low-cost international payments are a perfect catalyst for this. Banks should adopt a federated stablecoin that enables instant, low-cost international payments to compete with Libra and other initiatives. This stablecoin must be bank-grade, meaning it is secure, safe, fungible between multiple issuers and with clear sight of source of funds to support robust AML and sanctions screening.

Banks must stop worrying about the competition from peer banks. The real threat is from the large tech companies.

Customers want fast, affordable cross-border payments. Who do you go to (or, perhaps, who did you go to) when you need to make a payment? That’s right— your bank. Does your bank provide such a service? No. As a result, there is a gap between supply and demand. When incumbents don’t fill the gap, someone else does. Always. This is what leads to disruption. In most cases it’s not the technology itself that disrupts, but new business models.

This time is no different. Several stablecoin initiatives have recently been launched (or are in the works) that fill the gap for an instant, low-cost international payment without the involvement of banks.

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GMO Group Announces Partnership with INX Limited to Offer Yen Stablecoin

GMO Trust, the New York-based regulated stablecoin subsidiary of Japanese financial services conglomerate GMO Internet Group, announced a partnership with INX Limited to bring the world’s first regulated Japanese yen-pegged stablecoin, GYEN, through its subsidiary INX Digital, Inc. According to the press release, GYEN will be offered to both retail and institutional investors.

Furthermore, INX will also be integrating GMO Trust’s USD-backed stablecoin, ZDUSD. INX Limited is the owner of regulated exchange platforms, known for launching the first US SEC-registered security initial public offering (IPO). However, the firm clarified that both GYEN and ZUSD cannot be offered to Japanese residents due to regulatory restrictions.

“INX is proud to partner with a global financial services powerhouse that is issuing financial-grade stablecoins. GMO has a very synergistic portfolio of businesses that directly align with our institutional customer base, which we are ideally positioned to service on the digital asset side as a US regulated exchange,” Douglas Borthwick, Chief Business Officer at INX, commented.

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On the other hand, GMO CLICK Securities, Inc. – GMO Group’s financial service provider – has been ranked as one of the largest retail forex brokers in the world by volume in the last decade, according to the studies performed by Finance Magnates in the period 2012 – 2019 and 2020.

Recent FX Volumes in GMO CLICK

“We’re now entering into a new era where highly regulated exchanges are preparing to service tier one institutional traders. We’re thrilled to be working with INX, who have built their exchange in accordance with top US regulatory standards. This level of compliance, safety, and technology will attract the largest financial firms to their platform,” Ken Nakamura, CEO of GMO Trust, said on the announcement.

Last month, GMO CLICK witnessed a decline in its monthly volume on FX Neo by 15.8% month-over-month during April. Still, the Japanese brokerage ended the month with a total of 711,700 accounts on FX Neo, which is up from the previous month’s total of 709,122.