Wall Street Journal Column Calls Stablecoins “Private Money,” Warns of Economic Risks

Stablecoins maintain their value through reserves such as U.S. dollars and short-term Treasury securities, but are issued and redeemed by private companies including Tether and Circle. They fall outside the Federal Reserve’s management of the money supply and lack both bank-deposit insurance and central-bank lender-of-last-resort support. Wall Street Journal columnist Greg Ip therefore described them as “private money,” warning that panic-driven redemptions could force issuers to sell Treasury bills, disrupting short-term interest rates and the transmission of monetary policy.

A May 26, 2026, report said the global stablecoin market had surpassed $200 billion, while the issuers of USDT and USDC held more than $150 billion in U.S. Treasury securities and reverse-repurchase agreements. Tether had about $113 billion in assets, with more than 80% allocated to instruments including Treasury securities. The U.S. GENIUS Act became law on July 18, 2025, while the EU’s MiCA rules have applied since December 30, 2024, establishing contrasting market-led and prudential-regulation approaches.