稳定币监管没有抓住重点：私人纸币已经合法

私人银行以纸质或电子形式发行可赎回票据在美国似乎已经合法。

Stablecoin regulation is a hot-button issue in the cryptocurrency space. Recent reports from U.S. regulators and the Biden Administration have warned that stablecoins could threaten financial stability, though many are skeptical of that claim. Past proposals have sought to govern the transparency, issuance and licensing of stablecoins, but no legislation has yet been passed.

稳定币监管是加密货币领域的热点问题。美国监管机构和拜登政府最近的报告警告称，稳定币可能会威胁金融稳定，尽管许多人对此说法表示怀疑。过去的提案试图管理稳定币的透明度、发行和许可，但尚未通过任何立法。

This debate, however, may be missing an important point: The issuance of redeemable notes by private banks, whether in paper or electronic form, appears to already be legal in the United States.

然而，这场辩论可能忽略了一个重要的一点：私人银行发行可赎回票据，无论是纸质还是电子形式，在美国似乎已经合法。

Thomas Hogan is a senior fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. He was formerly the chief economist for the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs. This article is part of CoinDesk’s “Policy Week.”

托马斯·霍根是美国经济研究所的高级研究员。他曾任美国参议院银行、住房和城市事务委员会首席经济学家。本文是 CoinDesk “政策周”的一部分。

Private banknotes were used extensively as a medium of exchange for the majority of U.S. history. Before the establishment of the Federal Reserve in 1913, banks issued paper notes that were redeemable for an equivalent amount of some asset, usually gold. Even after the gold standard ended in 1933, notes issued by national banks continued to circulate, though their numbers dwindled to around $20 million in circulation by 1970.

在美国历史的大部分时间里，私人纸币都被广泛用作交换媒介。 1913 年美联储成立之前，银行发行纸币，可以兑换等值的某种资产（通常是黄金）。即使在 1933 年金本位制结束之后，各国银行发行的纸币仍继续流通，尽管其流通数量到 1970 年已减少至 2000 万美元左右。

Today, the issuance of private banknotes is common practice in several countries. In Hong Kong, Scotland and Northern Ireland, for example, private banks issue paper notes that are redeemable for their respective local currencies. Altogether, private bank-issued currency is legal in dozens of countries around the world.

如今，发行私人纸币已成为一些国家的常见做法。例如，在香港、苏格兰和北爱尔兰，私人银行发行可兑换各自当地货币的纸币。总的来说，私人银行发行的货币在全球数十个国家是合法的。

See also: What Is a Stablecoin?

另请参阅：什么是稳定币？

Electronic stablecoins are the modern analog to paper banknotes. Stablecoins are crypto tokens whose value is pegged to some other asset, such as the U.S. dollar. The total market value of the top four U.S. dollar-linked stablecoins is currently around $135 billion, which although quite large, is modest compared to the U.S. monetary base of about $5.4 trillion.

电子稳定币是纸币的现代模拟。稳定币是一种加密代币，其价值与其他资产（例如美元）挂钩。与美元挂钩的四大稳定币的总市值目前约为 1350 亿美元，虽然规模相当大，但与美国约 5.4 万亿美元的货币基础相比，这个数字并不高。

Most stablecoins are redeemable on demand, just like deposits in a checking or savings account. Tether (USDT), the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, promises redeemability in U.S. dollars. Some stablecoins, such as the dai (DAI) token, require more than 100% collateralization to help ensure token holders’ funds are secure even if the collateral value falls.

大多数稳定币都可以按需赎回，就像支票或储蓄账户中的存款一样。 Tether（USDT）是市值最大的稳定币，承诺以美元赎回。一些稳定币，例如 Dai (DAI) 代币，需要超过 100% 的抵押品，以帮助确保代币持有者的资金安全，即使抵押品价值下跌也是如此。

Legal authority

法律权限

In 2001, U.S. Department of the Treasury economist Kurt Schuler found that the issuance of private banknotes is technically legal in the United States. The tax on state-chartered notes, which effectively prohibited the practice, was repealed in 1976. The laws preventing issuance by nationally chartered banks were repealed in 1994, although a semi-annual tax (totaling 1% per year on the value of notes in circulation) would still apply.

2001年，美国财政部经济学家库尔特·舒勒发现，私人纸币的发行在技术上在美国是合法的。对国家特许票据征税实际上禁止了这种做法，并于 1976 年被废除。禁止国家特许银行发行的法律于 1994 年被废除，尽管每半年征税一次（每年对国家特许银行的票据价值征收 1% 的税）。流通）仍然适用。

If Schuler is correct, then no law or regulation currently restricts the issuance of private banknotes. A white paper from the Clearing House, a bank association, supports this view, noting that stablecoin-related activities “clearly fall within the existing legal authority of banks.” Further, they write, “no legislative change is required to permit banks to issue digitized deposits” in the form of stablecoins. In 2012, I calculated that U.S. banks could earn billions in profits by issuing their own private notes.

如果舒勒是正确的，那么目前没有法律或法规限制私人纸币的发行。银行协会清算所的一份白皮书支持这一观点，指出与稳定币相关的活动“显然属于银行现有的法律权限范围”。此外，他们写道，“无需修改立法即可允许银行以稳定币的形式发行数字化存款”。 2012年，我计算过美国银行通过发行自己的私人票据可以赚取数十亿美元的利润。

For regulatory purposes, redeemable stablecoins would presumably be treated like banknotes or other non-interest-bearing liabilities. They would not be subject to reserve requirements, which apply only to transaction accounts and were lowered to zero in 2020. Prior to 1994, national banknotes were required to be fully collateralized, but that requirement is no longer in effect.

出于监管目的，可赎回稳定币可能会被视为纸币或其他无息负债。它们不受准备金要求的约束，准备金要求仅适用于交易账户，并于 2020 年降至零。1994 年之前，国家纸币需要全额抵押，但该要求已不再有效。

See also: Circle CEO: US Stablecoin Legislation Is ‘Lowest-Hanging Fruit’

另请参阅：Circle 首席执行官：美国稳定币立法是“最容易实现的成果”

Bank-issued stablecoins would also not be subject to insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which applies only to specific types of accounts, such as checking and savings accounts.

银行发行的稳定币也不受联邦存款保险公司（FDIC）的保险约束，该保险仅适用于特定类型的账户，例如支票账户和储蓄账户。

State-chartered banks would likely enjoy more regulatory flexibility in issuing stablecoins. Some states, such as New York, have put off the crypto industry with restrictive regulatory regimes, but others including Wyoming have welcomed cryptocurrencies, and might provide a regulatory environment that is more amenable to stablecoins.

国有银行在发行稳定币方面可能会享有更大的监管灵活性。纽约等一些州通过限制性监管制度推迟了加密行业的发展，但怀俄明州等其他州则欢迎加密货币，并可能提供更适合稳定币的监管环境。

Another question is whether anti-money laundering (AML) laws, such as know-your-customer (KYC) requirements, would apply to bank-issued stablecoins. Some might argue that holding a stablecoin is like having a bank deposit, but a more apt comparison is to personal or cashier’s checks, which require only the check writer to have an account at the issuing bank. Signed checks can be passed on to other users who eventually redeem them. AML and KYC laws do not apply to intermediate holders of the check, only the check writer and possibly the redeemer. This standard should

另一个问题是反洗钱（AML）法律，例如了解你的客户（KYC）要求，是否适用于银行发行的稳定币。有些人可能会认为持有稳定币就像拥有银行存款，但更恰当的比较是个人支票或银行本票，只要求支票作者在发行银行拥有账户。签名的支票可以传递给最终兑换它们的其他用户。 AML 和 KYC 法律不适用于支票的中间持有者，仅适用于支票撰写者，也可能适用于赎回者。本标准应