Stablecoins in developing countries (draft)

This paper looks at how residents of developing countries use dollar-pegged stablecoins as an informal hedge against inflation and currency depreciation, and what that implies for domestic monetary systems, wider stablecoin adoption, and anti-money laundering. It combines adoption-oriented evidence with case angles such as Pakistan and Turkey: shifting savings and payments into stablecoins can weaken demand for local currency, complicate monetary policy transmission, and reshape capital flows, while also opening channels for remittances and financial access.