Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller said stablecoins could underpin global payment systems within the next decade or two, while reiterating his long-held skepticism about much of the broader cryptocurrency market.
“I assume our entire payment systems will be stablecoins in 10 or 15 years,” he said in an interview Morgan Stanley published Thursday. The fiat-linked tokens are “efficient, faster and cheaper” than traditional payment infrastructure, he said. “Blockchain and the use of stablecoins are incredibly useful in terms of productivity.”
Stablecoins such as Tether’s USDT and Circle Internet’s (CRCL) USDC are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a fixed value, often pegged to a fiat currency, most commonly the US dollar, and are widely used across digital asset markets for trading, payments and transfers.
Drukenmiller’s views echo recent statements from Australian investment bank Macquarie, which said tokens are already reshaping payments and banking. It noted that they are evolving from a niche crypto trading tool to a potential layer of global financial infrastructure.
As for other coins, however, the veteran investor reiterated a criticism he has made for years about the broader crypto sector.
“I said it a long time ago, and I’ll say it again: it’s a solution looking for a problem.”
Bitcoin’s Endurance
Despite his skepticism towards much of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, Druckenmiller has previously acknowledged that bitcoin has established itself as a store of value.
“I’m actually disappointed that it ended up being a value store because it wasn’t needed for that originally,” Druckenmiller said in the Morgan Stanley interview. “But it’s become a brand and people love it. So it’s probably going to be a value store.”
Druckenmiller questioned how long the US dollar will maintain its status as the world’s reserve currency. It is not a new attitude. In 2021, he said the dollar was losing its reputation worldwide and suggested at the time that crypto could replace it.
“We’re doing everything we can to destroy it. But I’m 72, it’ll probably outlive me.”
“I doubt it will be the reserve currency in 50 years, but I have no idea what that would be. Maybe a crypto thing I hate.”
