A growing demand for US dollar-tied crypto stablecoins could help push down the interest rate, says US Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran.
The Donald Trump-appointed Miran told the BCVC summit in New York on Friday that the dollar-pegged crypto tokens could be “putting downward pressure” on the neutral rate, or r-star, that doesn’t stimulate or impede the economy.
If the neutral rate drops, then the central bank would also react by dropping its interest rate, he said.
The total current market cap of all stablecoins sits at $310.7 million according to CoinGecko data, and Miran suggested that Fed research found the market could grow to up to $3 trillion in value in the next five years.
“My thesis is that stablecoins are already increasing demand for US Treasury bills and other dollar-denominated liquid assets by purchasers outside the United States and that this demand will continue growing,” Miran said.
“Stablecoins may become a multitrillion-dollar elephant in the room for central bankers.”
Organizations, including the International Monetary Fund, have warned that stablecoins pose a threat to traditional financial assets and services, as they could potentially compete for customers. US banking groups have also urged Congress to tighten oversight of stablecoins with yield, arguing they could attract would-be bank users.
Related: How TradFi banks are advancing new stablecoin models
Regulation to pave the way
During his speech, Miran praised the GENIUS Act for setting out clear guidelines and consumer protections, as he indicated that the regulatory framework will play a key role in spurring broader adoption of stablecoins.
“While I tend to view new regulations skeptically, I’m greatly encouraged by the GENIUS Act. This regulatory apparatus for stablecoins establishes a level of legitimacy and accountability congruent with holding traditional dollar assets,” he said, adding:
“For the purposes of monetary policy, the most important aspect of the GENIUS Act is that it requires U.S.-domiciled issuers to maintain reserves backed on at least a one-to-one basis in safe and liquid US dollar–denominated assets.”
Magazine: Bitcoin’s ‘speed bump’ to $56K? Ripple rejects IPO plans: Hodler’s Digest, Nov. 2 – 8
World
Madagascar’s new president Michael Randrianirina denies coup after taking office following Gen Z uprising
A Gen Z uprising has pushed Madagascar’s former leader Andry Rajoelina, not only out of office but out of the country.
In his place is Colonel Michael Randrianirina, who was sworn in as president of the island nation last month after his military unit joined the protesters.
Sky News’ Africa correspondent Yousra Elbagir sits down with the new leader.
The first question I ask Colonel Randrianirina, as he sits in an ornate mahogany chair in his military fatigues, is how it feels to be in the palace as president.
He sighs and sinks deeper into the chair. He looks humbled and struggles to find the words.
“How do I put it?” he says. “I am happy and it is also a great honour to have come to this palace to be able to help and support the Malagasy people in deep poverty.”
As commander of an elite non-combatant military unit, Corps d’Administration des Personnels et des Services de l’Armée de Terre (CAPSAT), the colonel rode a wave of Gen Z protests to the palace. On 11 October, he shared a video on social media instructing officers to disobey shoot-to-kill orders and support the movement.
The new Madagascan leader, Colonel Michael Randrianirina
At least 22 protesters have been killed and more than 100 injured after denouncing the power cuts and water shortages that have come to signify government corruption in the impoverished island nation.
Why did he share the pivotal video?
He says: “I am a military officer but I am also part of the people and I will return to the people. When you feel sorry for what the people are suffering from… they have been poor for so long and wealth has been looted – but you still shoot them and kill them. That was not why I entered the military of Madagascar, to kill people.”
Soon after his speech, soldiers allowed the young protesters rejecting then president Andry Rajoelina to occupy Place du 13 Mai Square on Independence Avenue in the heart of Antananarivo, the island nation’s capital.
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October: Madagascar’s president flees country after coup
Colonel Randrianirina paraded through a crowd and addressed them from the hatch of an armoured vehicle. “The president of the nation has to leave… If that does not happen,” he threatened, “we will see”.
After Mr Rajoelina fled Madagascar on 13 October, the National Assembly voted to impeach him for “desertion of duty”. Three days later, Colonel Randrianirina stood in fatigues in front of the palace. With officers by his side, he announced their seizure of power and the dissolution of the constitution and all government institutions outside of the National Assembly.
Shortly after, the African Union suspended Madagascar‘s membership on account of the military takeover.
A demonstration in Antananarivo last month. Pic: Reuters
In the palace as president, he insists that this is not a military coup.
“It is support for the people and the country and for us to not be prone to civil war – between the people – between the military officers and your needs, so you adjust helping to support the people to avoid this.
“We were not conducting any coup at all, it was the president [Rajoelina] himself who decided to leave the country.”
Sky News meets Colonel Randrianirina
United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres condemned “the unconstitutional change of government in Madagascar” and called for “the return to constitutional order and the rule of law,” when reports of a military takeover first circulated on 16 October. The day we met the new president, he had just been congratulated by France’s President Emmanuel Macron.
Colonel Randrianirina is promising elections in 18 to 24 months, after what he calls a “refoundation and recovery” of the country – a process he admits might take a long time.
Observers are concerned that elections will be postponed and the new president will become another strongman, but Gen Z organisers are holding on to faith that this hard-earned outcome is worth it.
‘We were living under a dictatorship’
I asked a group of five young organisers if they have concerns that the president will become another dictator, just like previous Malagasy rulers who ascended to power off the back of a popular uprising. Ousted president Mr Rajoelina came into power after protests in 2009 that also ended in a CAPSAT-supported coup.
Police patrolling the streets during last month’s protests. Pic: AP
University student Ratsirarisoa Nomena told us: “The new president is not a dictator… he is listening to the people and he is validated by the people.
“We as students also validated him – he is not a dictator because the motivation of the army is from the people for the people.
“We were living under dictatorship. There was no freedom of expression and it was very hard to fight for that in Madagascar. We had to face being injured and losing our lives and the lives of our fellow students. Malagasy citizens who fought with us lost their lives too. This is what we went through – to me, we are halfway to victory.”
Their president is aware of their support and does not credit Gen Z alone for his place in the palace.
“Generation Z are part of the reason [I am here] but the full Malagasy people really wanted change at the time we are speaking,” Mr Randrianirina told me. “The Malagasy people have been suffering for so long and deprived of fundamental rights – no access to water supply and electricity, facing insecurity.
“Malagasy people, including the Gen Z, government officials and trade unions really wanted change so it is the whole Malagasy people that supported me to this point.”
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Across Africa, young people are showing their disapproval of the old guard.
Gen Z protesters have made their mark in Tanzania, Kenya, Cameroon, Morocco, Mozambique and Nigeria in 2025 alone – denouncing disputed elections and the corruption impacting their futures.
Is the Gen Z coup of Madagascar a warning for old leaders on a young continent?
“I don’t know what to say about the other countries, but I know my own country,” Mr Randrianirina says.
“If tomorrow the people of Madagascar hate me, then I will leave this palace.”
It is a moment few could have imagined just a few years ago but the Syrian president, Ahmed al Sharaa, has arrived in Washington for a landmark series of meetings, which will culminate in a face-to-face with Donald Trump at the White House.
His journey to this point is a remarkable story, and it’s a tale of how one man went from being a jihadist battlefield commander to a statesman on the global stage – now being welcomed by the world’s most powerful nation.
Mr Sharaa became leader of Syria after the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime in December last year.
Before that he went by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al Jolani.
During Syria’s brutal civil war, he was the leader of the Nusra Front – a designated terror organisation, the Syrian branch of al Qaeda.
Back then, the thought of him setting foot on US soil and meeting a US president would have been unthinkable. There was a $10m reward for information leading to his capture.
Ahmed al Sharaa meeting Donald Trump in Riyadh in May. Pic: AP
So what is going on? Why is diplomacy being turned on its head?
After 14 years of conflict which started during the so-called Arab Spring, Syria is in a mess.
Mr Sharaa – as the head of the transitional government – is seen by the US as having the greatest chance of holding the country together and stopping it from falling back into civil war and failed state territory.
But to do that, Syria has to emerge from its pariah status and that’s what the US is gambling on and why it’s inclined to offer its support and a warm embrace.
Donald Trump, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Ahmed al Sharaa in May. Pic: Saudi Press Agency
By endorsing Mr Sharaa, it is hoping he will shed his past and emerge as a leader for everyone and unite the country.
Holding him close also means it’s less likely that Iran and Russia will again be able to gain a strong strategic foothold in the country.
So, a man who was once an enemy of the US is now being feted as a potential ally.
Mr Sharaa meeting Vladimir Putin in Moscow in October. Pic: Reuters
There are big questions, though. He has rejected his extremist background, saying he did what he did because of the circumstances of the civil war.
But since he took power, there have been sectarian clashes. In July, fighting broke out between Druze armed groups and Bedouin tribal fighters in Sweida.
It was a sign of just how fragile the country remains and also raises concerns about his ability to be a leader for everyone.
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Can Syria’s new president be trusted?
Read more:
Two dead as Super Typhoon hits Philippines
UK deploying specialist RAF team to defend Belgium from ‘rogue’ drones
Nonetheless, Mr Sharaa is viewed as the best chance of stabilising Syria and by extension an important part of the Middle East.
Get Syria right, the logic goes, and the rest of the jigsaw will be easier to put and hold together.
The visit to Washington is highly significant and historic. It’s the first-ever official visit by a Syrian head of state since the country’s independence in 1946.
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Top shot: Syrian leader shows off his basketball skills
The meeting with Donald Trump is, though, the really big deal. The two men met in Riyadh in May but in the meeting later today they will discuss lifting sanctions – crucial to Syria’s post-war reconstruction – how Syria can help in the fight against Islamic State, and a possible pathway to normalisation of relations with Israel.
The optics will be fascinating as the US continues to engage with a former militant with jihadi links.
It’s a risk, but if successful, it could reshape Syria’s role in the region from US enemy to strong regional ally.
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