IMF – Decrypting Crypto: How to Estimate International Stablecoin Flows
The main topic of the document is the development of a new methodology using AI and machine learning to estimate the geographical distribution of international stablecoin flows, overcoming the anonymity of crypto-assets.
Key findings include: The largest stablecoin flows are observed in North America ($633 billion) and the Asia-Pacific region ($519 billion). Relative to GDP, they are most significant in Latin America and the Caribbean (7.7%), as well as in Africa and the Middle East (6.7%). North America shows a net outflow of stablecoins, indicating global demand for dollars, which increases during periods of dollar strengthening against other currencies. The banking crisis of 2023 significantly hindered stablecoin flows from North America. A comparison of data with the Chainalysis dataset is presented.
