As digital assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies become increasingly integrated into financial markets, public pension systems face important questions about whether and how to incorporate them into investment portfolios.

On June 23, a Reason Foundation webinar with leading experts explored how public pension systems should evaluate cryptocurrency investments; how to assess and manage the risk and volatility for public workers, retirees, and taxpayers; and how to provide the public with transparency into these investments.

You can watch the webinar here:

The panelists and moderator of this webinar:

Brad Briner

Brad Briner is the treasurer of North Carolina. Before taking office, he served as co-chief investment officer for Willett Advisors, which manages the philanthropic and personal investment assets of Mike Bloomberg. His prior experience includes roles at Morgan Creek Capital, UNC Management Company, ArcLight Capital, and Goldman Sachs. Briner graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead Scholar with a degree in economics with distinction and earned an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.

Todd D. Kanaster

Todd D. Kanaster is a director at S&P Global Ratings specializing in municipal pensions and retiree medical benefits. His work includes analyzing issuers, training analysts, and serving as a nationwide specialist on public pension and retiree health care issues within S&P’s local government credit analysis. He is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries.

Mariana Trujillo

Mariana Trujillo is managing director of government finance at Reason Foundation. Her research focuses on the fiscal health of federal, state, and local governments, with particular attention to the impact of pension liabilities on government finances and the effect of retirement benefits on public-employee recruitment and retention.

Leonard Gilroy (moderator)

Leonard Gilroy is vice president of government reform at Reason Foundation and senior managing director of Reason’s Pension Integrity Project. Under his leadership, the Pension Integrity Project assists policymakers and other stakeholders in designing, analyzing and implementing public sector pension reforms.

Related policy study:
U.S. public pension and trust fund investment in digital assets
Frequently asked questions about public pensions investing in Bitcoin and other digital assets

Baht-Pegged Stablecoin Framework

The Bank of Thailand plans to introduce a stablecoin pegged to the national currency as part of an initiative to support financial innovation, central bank Governor Vitai Ratanakorn announced June 30. Speaking at a financial conference hosted by efinanceThai, Ratanakorn said the central bank will hold a public hearing on the proposal by the end of the year.

Under the initial framework, any operating stablecoin must be fully backed on a 1-to-1 basis by Thai baht reserves. The central bank will limit the first phase of the rollout to financial institutions for settlement purposes only, with broader use cases to be evaluated later.

According to a local report, the central bank is also tightening enforcement on cross-border mobile payment platforms. Ratanakorn reiterated that all personal QR code payments in Thailand must be conducted exclusively in baht.

Regulators have suspended approximately 5,000 accounts used for peer-to-peer yuan transfers via Alipay and Wechat Pay between February 2025 and May 2026. The central bank is currently coordinating with those platforms to review transactions and identify regulatory violations.

Payment service providers that process transactions in unauthorized currencies face corrective measures, fines, suspensions, or the revocation of their licenses, Ratanakorn warned. Additionally, the governor clarified that the central bank will not grant licenses for retail foreign-exchange operations intended for speculative trading.

Facilitating transfers to settle speculative forex transactions may violate the Exchange Control Act of 1942, which carries penalties of up to 3 years’ imprisonment and a $6,012 (200,000 baht) fine. Furthermore, individuals who advertise or promote speculative currency trading could face fraud charges under a 1984 emergency decree, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and significant daily fines.

Ratanakorn said the central bank’s dual objective is to foster financial technology while maintaining strict control over consumer protection and domestic currency flows.