Stablecoins have plentiful machine-payment use cases in absence of euro CBDC: Report

Europe could lead the world in developing the Internet of Things (IoT) by harnessing the potential of stablecoins, the Digital Euro Association argues in a new report. Machine-to-machine (M2M) payment is a field poised for growth, and stablecoins, in particular, offer advantages for it, the report says.

There are growing use cases for M2M micropayments in industrial and home or office settings, such as handling charges for shipping containers and other fees along a logistics chain and pay-per-use fees for 3D printing, cloud storage and many other services. Currently, these uses are hindered by their potentially overwhelming volume and structural weaknesses, such as the need to layer application programming interfaces (APIs).

Stablecoins could increase scalability and reduce or eliminate intermediaries, thereby alleviating the usability and security challenges that APIs present, according to the report. The use of stablecoins would also eliminate human error.

Related: $100M fund aims to support the growth of decentralized machine economy

M2M payments also offer Europe a chance to take greater advantage of stablecoin technology, as many of its features are more applicable elsewhere:

“Outside of providing access to DeFi markets, typical stablecoin use cases have focused on improving financial inclusion or reducing the costs of cross-border remittances, which may not be so compelling in a European context.”

The European Central Bank has given M2M payments low priority for a digital euro design, even though “leveraging DLT technology in this context is being heavily explored.” Thus, stablecoin integration may be relevant in the long term:

“It is important that regulators foster growth in IoT and M2M payments, as it is key to maintaining the global competitiveness of the European digital economy.”

Regulators need to address a machine identity framework, stablecoin interoperability standards, guidance for unhosted wallets and other issues before the potential of stablecoins can be realized, the report says.

All Dutch and English crypto news!

SEC sues Bitcoin miner Geosyn, accusing founders of $5.6M fraud

The SEC alleged Geosyn Mining’s co-founders misappropriated $1.2 million of its investors’ funds, spending it on holidays, nightclubs and firearms. News Own this piece of crypto history Collect...

Solana Mobile ‘Chapter 2’ airdrops briefly exceed cost of pre-order

Airdrops from two cat-themed memecoins may have paid off the entire pre-order value of the Solana ‘Chapter 2’ mobile device. News Own this piece of crypto history Collect...

Pantera Capital seeks $1B for a new crypto fund: Report

The Pantera Fund V will invest in a range of blockchain-based assets and is slated for launch in April 2025. News Own this piece of crypto history Collect...

Crypto vecht terug, Ethereum bedrijf klaagt SEC aan

Ethereum-bedrijf Consensys klaagt de Amerikaanse toezichthouder SEC aan om te voorkomen dat Ethereum als beleggingsproduct wordt gezien. De SEC is de waakhond op de Amerikaanse financiële...

Beste exchanges

Koop je crypto bij Bitvavo