Dear all, our next seminar speaker at CEU is Vincent Maurin (Stockholm School of Economics), who'll present "Can Stablecoins be Stable" (joint work with Adrien d'Avernas and Quentin Vandeweyer) -- you are cordially invited to attend his in-person seminar. Time and venue: February 28, Tuesday, 11.15am - 12.30pm, in room C322 at CEU, 51 Quellenstrasse 1100 Vienna. Abstract: This paper provides a general framework for analyzing the stability of stablecoins, cryptocurrencies pegged to a traditional currency. We study the problem of a monopolist platform that can earn seigniorage revenues from issuing stablecoins. We characterize stablecoin issuance-redemption and pegging dynamics under various degrees of commitment to policies. Even under full commitment to issuance, the stablecoin peg is vulnerable to large demand shocks. Backing stablecoins with collateral helps to stabilize the platform but does not provide commitment. Decentralization of issuance, combined with collateral, can act as a substitute for commitment. Speaker's website: https://sites.google.com/site/vincentmmaurin/home. For any inquiries, contact the CESS organizer, Timea L. Molnar, at molnartl@ceu.edu<mailto:molnartl@ceu.edu>.