Kraken boss David Ripley has fired back against a senior executive of the American Bankers Association, who argued that stablecoins yield is a “detriment” to banks’ abilities to support their community.
ABA’s senior vice president of innovation and strategy, Brooke Ybarra, said if major crypto exchanges such as Kraken or Coinbase were allowed to pay interest on payment stablecoins, it would “fly in the face” of the idea that stablecoins should be used for payments and not as a store of value.
“A detriment to who?” Ripley said. “Consumers should have the freedom to choose where they hold value and the most efficient way to send that value.”
Kraken CEO argues the crypto industry is building “something else”
Ripley argued that banks have been earning fees on customers’ assets without passing on benefits back to them, adding:
“We are building toward something else — a system where services once reserved for the wealthy are accessible to everyone.”
Others in the crypto industry echoed Ripley’s criticism. Dan Spuller, head of industry affairs at the Blockchain Association, said, “Big Banks are ruthlessly targeting our friends at @Coinbase and @KrakenFX to protect their turf.”
“Translation: competition’s winning,” Spuller said.
American Bankers Association’s Brooke Ybarra made the comments at the ABA Annual Convention. Source: American Bankers Association
Some stablecoins offer up to 5% on deposits on certain crypto platforms, a far more attractive rate than the US national average savings rate of just 0.6% and still above the best offered high-interest rate of 4%, according to Bankrate data.
Solana developer Voss said, “Bring on the competition, it’s a capitalist world anyway.”
The comments come just months after US President Donald Trump signed off on the long-awaited Genius Act, a comprehensive regulatory framework for stablecoins that signals their potential move toward mainstream adoption.
Crypto industry is pushing back against TradFi
Stablecoins may potentially be safer than deposits held at commercial banks, according to Haun Ventures, general partner Diogo Monica, who said in June that many stablecoins are backed by reserves held at globally systemically important banks (G-SIBs) or in short-term US Treasury bills, which he says are more secure than commercial bank deposits.
Related: Japan’s FSA weighs allowing banks to hold Bitcoin, other cryptos: Report
Outside the US, tensions between the crypto industry and traditional banks have also risen recently.
According to a recent survey from Binance Australia, crypto users in Australia are still facing banking barriers when engaging with exchanges and other crypto businesses.
Matt Poblocki, general manager of crypto exchange Binance’s Australian and New Zealand operations, told Cointelegraph that seamless access to financial services directly affects participation, confidence and trust in the market, introducing barriers that can slow adoption and limit growth.
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