Stablecoins are becoming popular. There’s no denying it; a number have hit the market this year. In fact, just yesterday, the Winklevoss twins announced the Gemini Dollar—the first-ever regulated stablecoin.

Not to mention Carbon launched CarbonUSD, a US dollar backed stablecoin, today.

And yet, despite the crypto market displaying optimism around the latest trend in the industry, one Berkeley Professor provided an alternative view.

He said there is no indication that stablecoins are viable.

Berkeley Professor Talks Stablecoins

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to a stable asset. That’s as simple as it gets. The Gemini Dollar, for instance, created by Gemini Trust Co (Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss’ company) will be pegged to the USD at 1:1.

But Barry Eichengreen, Economics Professor at the University of Berkeley, said that just because these coins can be pegged to reserves of fiat currency doesn’t mean they are “viable.”

Sure, he admits that stablecoins appear to solves problems of conventional cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin (available on Coinbase) (BTC). With these digital currencies, trading prices are volatile, making their purchasing power unstable.

Further, Eichengreen said that because their value is “stable in terms of dollars or their equivalent,” stablecoins are attractive as:

Units of account
Stores of value

However, according to Eichengreen, “this doesn’t mean that they are viable.”

Changing the Mind of the Crypto Market

It seems unlikely that Eichengreen’s comments will cause the crypto market to see a disappearance in stablecoins. Yesterday, a well-known crypto player said the Gemini Dollar is a sign that the industry is maturing.