Jackson Hole Fed Retreat Adds Crypto and Stablecoins

The Kansas City Federal Reserve has added crypto and stablecoins to the agenda for its annual Jackson Hole economic symposium after a Wyoming Blockchain Symposium in Jackson Hole drew about 500 people to the Four Seasons between Aug. 17 and Aug. 20. The Fed’s 49th annual symposium takes place at Jackson Lake Lodge on Aug. 27, roughly 35 miles north of the hotel that hosted the industry event.

The Fed listed crypto and stablecoins alongside instant payments and other digital payment systems under the program titled “Financial Innovation: Implications for Payments and Policy.” About 120 central bankers, economists and officials are expected to attend. Kevin Warsh is scheduled to deliver the keynote on Friday at 10 a.m. EDT. The full symposium agenda was scheduled for release at 8 p.m. EDT on Aug. 27.

A stablecoin is a token designed to keep a fixed value to the dollar and to move across blockchain networks. Issuers typically hold cash, Treasury bills and other short-term assets as reserves and offer redemption at $1. Regulators and central banks describe fiat-backed stablecoins as private forms of money because they can move payments and deposits outside traditional bank ledgers and affect Treasury demand and bank funding.

The Bank for International Settlements’ 2026 review estimated stablecoin market capitalization at about $320 billion at the end of May and reported a gross transaction value of roughly $28 trillion during 2025; the BIS said that figure is inflated by transfers among wallets controlled by the same entity. The BIS also reported that 99.4% of fiat-backed stablecoins were pegged to the U.S. dollar.

At the U.S. policy level, President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law in July 2025. Federal regulators have spent 2026 defining reserve, redemption and customer-identification rules for stablecoin issuers. On Aug. 19 the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said it expects a final implementation rule by November and noted that 23 of 40 pending de novo bank-charter applications involve digital-asset activity.

Beyond stablecoins, crypto assets such as Bitcoin are discussed at policy gatherings as macro assets whose prices respond to real yields, liquidity and expectations about monetary policy. July personal consumption expenditures data showed headline and core prices each rose 0.2% for the month, with 12-month rates at 3.7% and 3.3%, respectively, and real consumer spending nearly flat. Treasury officials said they will increase long-end buyback caps from $2 billion to $4 billion per operation beginning in September.

The Wyoming Blockchain Symposium featured speakers from industry and Congress, including Michael Novogratz, Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi, Denelle Dixon and Senators Cynthia Lummis and Tim Scott. The overlap in timing and topic means industry participants and central bankers will address similar payment and monetary questions in separate gatherings in the same region.

Organizers of the Fed symposium said the program will examine the future of currency, banking, monetary policy implementation and global financial integration, bringing private digital instruments into discussions that have historically focused on central-bank policy and financial stability.