Fed's Miran: Stablecoin adoption could put downward pressure on interest rates

By Michael S. Derby NEW YORK (Reuters) -Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran on Friday said that if stablecoins end up enjoying widespread adoption it could mean the central bank needs to keep short-term interest rates lower than they would otherwise be. “Even relatively conservative estimates of stablecoin growth imply an increase in the net supply of loanable funds in the economy that pushes down” the economy’s neutral rate, Miran said in the text of a speech to be delivered before the BCVC Summit 2025 in New York. The neutral rate, which is the short-term interest rate that neither stimulates nor slows the economy, is called R-star. And if R-star “is lower, policy rates should also be lower than they would otherwise be to support a healthy economy,” Miran said, adding “a failure of th