Stablecoins — crypto assets pegged to fiat currencies like the dollar — “raise serious risks for financial integrity and can facilitate regulatory circumvention,” the head of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said in a speech in Japan Monday (April 20).

The fast-rising use of stablecoins could also “make it easier to evade capital controls” in emerging markets (EMs) and developing countries trying to keep control on financial flows and heighten “dollarisation risks,” said BIS general manager Pablo Hernández de Cos, whose comments were reported by the Financial Times (FT).

Their increasing popularity “opens up new avenues for tax evasion,” he added, citing estimates that “stablecoins now account for most illicit transactions within the crypto ecosystem.”

According to the FT, the increased worldwide use of dollar-denominated stablecoins was mentioned as a threat to financial stability in EMs by multiple financial policymakers when they convened in Washington last week for the IMF and World Bank meetings.

“There will be a focus on the extent to which it moves into domestic currency substitution,” Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, said during a financial industry event in D.C.

Bailey, who also chairs the Financial Stability Board, said “the rate of progress” on establishing international rules for stablecoins had slowed.

“If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said we are heading very quickly towards it. But I think it is something that we will have to come to terms with pretty soon,” he added.

Meanwhile, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said last week that European banks should develop more euro-based stablecoins and tokenized deposits to reduce the region’s dependence on non-European payment providers.

Speaking at a cryptocurrency conference in Paris, Lescure said that the small volume of euro-pegged stablecoins compared to dollar-pegged tokens is “not satisfactory” and that a company formed by a group of European banks to introduce a euro-pegged stablecoin later this year is “what we need and that is what we want.”

In other stablecoin news, PYMNTS wrote last week about the implications of recent security incidents such as the North Korea-linked hack that led to losses of up to $280 million.

“The incidents underscore the fact that major stablecoin issuers retain the technical ability to halt transfers of specific tokens, or even eliminate them entirely through what’s termed as ‘burning,’ often in response to regulatory directives, security incidents or compliance concerns,” PYMNTS wrote.

“For CFOs accustomed to the predictability of bank deposits or money market funds, this can introduce a new category of risk: not market risk, but governance risk embedded in code.”

Key Takeaways:

• New Bitcoin film stars Casey Affleck and Gal Gadot, probing Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity.
• Craig Wright’s disputed role deepens divisions across Bitcoin developers and market participants.
• Industry reaction may polarize further as the film revives debate over Bitcoin’s origins.

Bitcoin Creator Dispute Moves Into Mainstream Film

The mystery surrounding Bitcoin’s creator is moving into the mainstream as “ Bitcoin,” previously referred to in online reports as “ Bitcoin: Killing Satoshi,” adapts one of crypto’s most contested debates to the screen. Ahead of the Cannes market, Patrick Wachsberger’s 193, a film sales and production company, launched international sales on the project, signaling a push to global buyers. Around the same time, Acme AI & FX, the production company behind the film, confirmed it had wrapped production on the Doug Liman-directed feature. The movie, described as the “first fully-generated, studio-quality AI feature film,” centers on the unresolved question of who created Bitcoin and why that issue continues to influence industry discussions and market perception.

The story follows Charlotte “Lotte” Miller, a war correspondent played by Gal Gadot, who is recruited by blockchain investor Calvin Ayre, portrayed by Pete Davidson, to write an investigative report on Australian computer scientist Craig Wright. Casey Affleck plays Wright, with Isla Fisher also appearing in the cast. The film was written by Nick Schenk and produced by Ryan Kavanaugh and Lawrence Grey, with production beginning at the end of February. The synopsis described the film:

“A high-stakes conspiracy thriller that asks the question no one in power wants answered.”

A longer description presents the movie as the story of one man’s effort to prove he created Bitcoin, a claim that allegedly puts his life in danger and sparks a global controversy involving tech billionaires, world leaders, and the future of the financial system.

Craig Wright Claims Renew Industry Polarization

From a Bitcoin industry standpoint, the film enters a highly disputed issue. Wright’s claim that he is Satoshi Nakamoto has been challenged for years by developers, researchers, and other participants in the sector, many of whom point to the lack of accepted cryptographic proof. A 2024 U.K. court ruling also rejected his claim, adding legal weight to that skepticism. Within parts of the BTC community, Wright is widely referred to as “Faketoshi,” and critics have accused him of fraud tied to those assertions.

The production approach has also drawn attention, as the “fully-generated” label refers largely to AI-built environments and visuals, while actors perform traditionally with digital settings added in post-production. At the same time, the subject matter is likely to drive industry reaction, as many bitcoiners view the claims as legally and technically discredited rather than unresolved.

That divide helps explain why the film is likely to provoke a polarized response across crypto. Many will see it as reopening a debate already settled by legal findings and technical evidence, while others may view it as an attempt to revisit unanswered questions around motive and power. The synopsis stated:

“All this leads Lotte, and the audience, to the central question — If Craig Wright didn’t invent Bitcoin, why is a coalition controlling trillions in global wealth spending hundreds of millions and risking everything to destroy him?”

“This is an exciting and gripping story, set in the mysterious and high-stakes real world of crypto,” Wachsberger told Deadline. The positioning underscores how the film is being framed, not just as a thriller, but as a mainstream take on one of bitcoin’s most contested narratives, where claims have long been weighed against verifiable proof.

It hasn’t been an enjoyable time if you have money tied up in cryptocurrencies. After the market’s valuation peaked at $4.4 trillion in October, we’ve witnessed a downward spiral that has resulted in that figure plummeting to $2.6 trillion today (as of April 17).

On the other hand, the S&P 500 index climbed 5% during the same time. It’s completely understandable if people want to forget about digital assets. They aren’t the easiest to hold; it’s hard to handle the volatility.

However, a monster opportunity is staring investors in the face. Here’s the cryptocurrency to buy right now, especially since it trades under $80,000.

It usually doesn’t end well for fiat currencies

It’s time to shine the spotlight on Bitcoin(CRYPTO: BTC), the world’s first and most valuable cryptocurrency, with a market cap of $1.5 trillion. Bitcoin is a decentralized monetary network that was built to allow anyone in the world to transfer value to anyone else anywhere in the world without the use of an intermediary. It was a technological breakthrough at the time. And it still is today.

To understand the enormous importance of a completely novel monetary network to emerge, one that’s digital, immutable, and not controlled by anyone, it requires looking at the past. Fiat currencies, like the U.S. dollar, have a troubled history.

Since President Richard Nixon ended the convertibility of U.S. dollars to gold in 1971, the world economy has operated on government-backed, or fiat, currencies. The U.S. dollar has been the global reserve currency.

But the track record is impossible to ignore. Fiat currencies often end in collapse. Before the U.S. dollar’s current reign, it was the British Pound sterling. Over time, inflation decreases purchasing power, sometimes rapidly.

Is the writing on the wall for the U.S. dollar? Persistent fiscal deficits in the U.S., an ever-expanding debt burden that’s nearing $40 trillion, loss of public confidence and trust, and political instability are all clear signs that cracks in the system are forming.

While unsustainable things can go on for much longer than people anticipate, perhaps it’s only a matter of time before the U.S. dollar’s dominance comes to an end. And Bitcoin appears well-positioned to be a winner from this development.

The history lesson naturally leads to Bitcoin

After gaining more knowledge about the history of fiat currencies, investors will figure out the best ways to allocate capital to maintain and grow their purchasing power over the next decade. High-quality stocks, particularly in businesses that possess pricing power, present one idea. Real estate and commodities are also interesting if you have expertise in these areas.

Gold also comes to mind. It might not be a coincidence that the precious metal’s price doubled in the past two years. Those in charge of large pools of capital might be considering some of the variables that I just discussed, leading them to direct money toward an asset that has been viewed as a top store of value for millennia.

I believe, however, that Bitcoin is the best bet if you think there’s even a tiny chance that the U.S. dollar will collapse as its predecessors did.

Bitcoin is superior to gold, in my opinion. It’s purely digital, while also being divisible, allowing people to transact with it. It’s borderless and portable. And it’s finite, with a hard supply cap of 21 million units. It makes sense that a neutral monetary asset would succeed, or at least rise alongside, the U.S. dollar’s run. Individuals, corporations, financial institutions, and governments should gravitate toward the supreme cryptocurrency.

And that supports a much higher price a decade from now, with the upside even bigger on a longer time horizon. With Bitcoin trading 40% off its peak, at a price that’s under $80,000 right now, investors have the opportunity to buy what could end up being the dominant financial instrument in the economy one day.

Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.