According to a Sept. 1 Financial Times interview, the Nobel laureate cautioned that crisis redemptions could spark runs and pressure governments, while low Treasury yields may push issuers toward higher-risk reserve assets.
Nobel laureate Jean Tirole said current stablecoin regulation is insufficient and that he is "very, very worried." He warned that, in a future financial crisis, if reserves backing stablecoins are questioned, redemptions could trigger runs and pressure governments to fund multi-billion-dollar bailouts. Tirole added that using U.S. Treasuries as backing may become unpopular due to low yields, potentially pushing issuers toward higher-return, higher-risk assets. The remarks were reported in a Financial Times interview on Sept. 1.