Stablecoins will become a necessary component of the future foreign exchange market.

Source: Exame
Original Title: There will be no foreign exchange market in the future without stablecoins, says Braza Bank CEO
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With decades of industry experience, Marcelo Sacomori has developed Braza Bank into the largest specialized foreign exchange bank in Brazil over the past ten years. After witnessing multiple innovations in the sector, the CEO is adamant: stablecoins—cryptocurrencies pegged to other assets—will be an inevitable part of the future foreign exchange market.

In an interview, Sacomori placed these assets among a series of transformations and modernization waves that have impacted the FX market since the early 21st century. Globalization, the strengthening of international business, increasingly close ties between countries, and technologies enabling ever-faster and lower-cost transfers have marked the industry’s evolution.

Now, he believes stablecoins represent a new leap in this process. Braza Bank itself has fully entered the field, planning to launch two proprietary cryptocurrencies pegged to the Brazilian real and the US dollar in 2025. Furthermore, the institution handles at least 50% of Brazil’s stablecoin transactions, reflecting its growing significance in this space.

Stablecoins and Foreign Exchange

Stablecoins can be pegged to any asset, but the most well-known, widely used, and valuable are those pegged to the US dollar. This means that one unit of the cryptocurrency must always equal one US dollar. In practice, this relationship enables transfers and payments using blockchain technology, fully leveraging its advantages.

Sacomori describes the impact of these assets as “staggering,” providing “almost instantaneous operations, which are entirely different from the logic of traditional international settlement systems (SWIFT).”

While traditional systems require at least three to four business days to process transactions—with high fees and risks of potential delays—stablecoins offer “24/7 access to the FX market, more competitive spreads, lower costs, greater speed and transparency, and they solve transactional trust issues.”

“Auditable transparency is a huge value point, especially in commercial transactions and particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises,” the executive emphasized. For Sacomori, “Stablecoins have the potential to bring decent payment systems to countries and regions where such systems do not yet exist. Even in humanitarian disaster situations where traditional payment systems may fail, there are many possible use cases.”

The Future of the Industry

In this context, the executive has no doubt that “the FX market will not exist without stablecoins. This is not the future; it is reality. The Central Bank’s own regulatory rules have already proven this.” He refers to the recent rules issued by the Central Bank for the crypto sector, including the integration of crypto transactions into the FX market framework.

He notes that “all regulation is meaningful and appropriate. I think bringing it under the FX framework is healthy. While there may be ways for the private market to circumvent this, that’s already allowed with cash—personal transactions are not taxed. Regulation is healthy to prevent fraud, theft, and scams. Entities will be regulated with minimum capital, which provides tremendous security.”

The Braza Bank CEO also expects a “natural selection process” in the stablecoin sector, even as major financial institutions are launching new assets. “JPMorgan will launch one, Bank of America will also launch one.”

However, he believes “only a few leaders will remain, and others will join them. The magic of success will be in the applications. In Brazil, you already have Pix, the best payment system in the world. So why do you need a real-pegged stablecoin? To consolidate that asset, you need to build applications aggregated by smart contract technology.”

“Usability will be the biggest differentiator. We may have an organized ecosystem where a few regional stablecoins are connected with a few global ones. I don’t believe there will be a single dominant one, but rather a handful. Local ones will be based on compliance, with auditable and transparent reserves, certification, and liquidity, which provides instant currency exchange. It will be a race for quality,” he said.