欧洲央行-央行货币作为可替代性的催化剂：以稳定币为例（英）

Working Paper Series Central bank money as a catalyst for fungibility: the case of stablecoins Charles-Enguerrand Coste, George Pantelopoulos Disclaimer: This paper should not be reported as representing the views of the European Central Bank (ECB). The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the ECB. No 3111 AbstractTo ensure that means of payments are readily interchangeable at face value – i.e. fungible – for retailpayments, three elements are required: (1) seƩlement finality; (2) interoperability; and (3) seamlessconverƟbility of the means of payment into the “ulƟmate” or quasi-ulƟmate means of payment. Thispaper argues that stablecoins issued by different issuers on different blockchains can be fungible tothe same extent as commercial bank deposits from different banks provided that (i) payment andseƩlement technologies are interoperable, (ii) payments are transacted on ledgers that offerseƩlement finality, and (iii) that central bank money acts as the anchor to the monetary system(assuming that the central bank money is itself underscored by a homogenous unit of account). Onthis basis, this paper asserts that tokenised funds and off-chain collateralised stablecoins are fungiblemeans of payments under some condiƟons, and that on-chain collateralised stablecoins can be primafacie classified as fungible means of payments, so long as the idenƟcal precondiƟons associated withaccomplishing means of payment fungibility for tokenised funds/off-chain collateralised stablecoinscan be fulfilled, and on the premise that the on-chain collateral can be readily converted into higherlevel money. Finally, it is determined that algorithmic stablecoins are not fungible means of payments.Key Words: stablecoin, electronic money token, fungibility, central bankJEL classificaƟon: B26; E42ECB Working Paper Series No 31111Non-Technical Summary Since 2014, stablecoins have evolved from a niche innovaƟon to a significant component of the digital asset landscape, with total issuance reaching approximately USD 250 billion as of end-June 2025 (equivalent to just over 1% of USD M2 money).2 The terminology surrounding stablecoins has developed rapidly but oŌen lacks precision. The term "stablecoin" remains a broad label for various crypto-assets that aim to maintain a stable value relaƟve to a specific asset or pool of assets. However, this goal-oriented definiƟon focused on intended price stability tends to obscure criƟcal disƟncƟons in design and funcƟon. Key aƩributes such as the token’s use case, asset-backing model, converƟbility mechanism, seƩlement finality, and interoperability are essenƟal to assessing a token’s ability to support the singleness of money. This paper argues that stablecoins can only funcƟon as fungible means of payments – i.e. be readily interchangeable at face value with other forms of money – if three core condiƟons are met: Interoperability with dominant payment and seƩlement technologies;S