Fed Sets Stablecoin Showdown for Oct. 21 – Business Models Face Scrutiny

The U.S. Federal Reserve will host a high-profile conference on October 21 to examine the future of payments innovation, with stablecoins taking center stage. Regulators, financial institutions, and technology leaders will debate how tokenization, AI, and decentralized finance could reshape global payments.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher J. Waller emphasized the Fed's goal of balancing innovation with stability. "Innovation has been a constant in payments to meet the changing needs of consumers and businesses," he said. The conference will explore both opportunities and risks in new technologies to improve payment safety and efficiency.

Panel discussions will focus on the convergence of traditional and decentralized finance, stablecoin business models, and AI's role in payments. Tokenization—seen as transformative for asset issuance and transfers—will also be a key topic. The event will be livestreamed publicly.