A wise CEO once told me that a credit union CEO’s job is to know where members are putting their money and develop products that encourage consumers to keep their money with them instead. The stablecoin is the start of a whole new industry that is going to compete directly against your credit union for your members’ money. Every dollar a member uses to buy a stablecoin, and every stablecoin placed in an electronic wallet for safekeeping, joins the growing list of places that members can put their money other than your credit union.

And, for the first time, you won’t be competing just against banks or lenders. Instead, you may soon find yourself competing against some of the largest companies in the world; think Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon, all of whom could offer their own stablecoin. To be clear, the legislation passed by the Senate forbids stablecoins from earning interest and doesn’t permit issuers to engage in tying arrangements. But clearly, a stablecoin has the potential to be more than an amusing oddity. At the very least, think of these coins as new payment rails that aren’t subject to debit or credit card interchange fees.

Several intriguing use cases have already been experimented with. Since the stablecoin combines both speed and the computer based validation of a digital ledger transaction, these currencies could be used for anything from making home sales quicker to making wire transfers safer. Proponents also argue that it could be used to expand banking opportunities for the unbanked. Think of it this way - now, opening a bank account could be as easy as buying tickets for the Philadelphia Phillies game I watched on Saturday with the stablecoin being placed in a phone’s electronic wallet for safekeeping.

On a practical level, the vast majority of credit unions aren’t going to be able to issue stablecoins. The collateral requirements and ongoing BSA and other compliance responsibilities will cost too much, at least in the short to medium term. But the federal legislation under consideration will also help jump start the ability of credit unions to act as safe keepers for passwords and other similar information required to be kept by stablecoin holders. Think of this as an electronic version of the safety deposit box.

And just as the largest banks already have plans to issue their own stablecoins, I’m sure that some credit unions will also take the plunge. After all, a stablecoin is in many ways a digital expansion of the cooperative framework since it can only be acquired and used by members who buy this specific coin. Many consumers may feel safer digitizing with an established financial intermediary with decades of handling and protecting people’s funds than with a cutting-edge company with a proven track record of technological innovation but absolutely no banking knowledge.

We will have to see how the NCUA develops regulations to accommodate the unique structure of credit unions, but there may also be a place for credit unions to provide safe keeping services for the collateral used to back stop a stablecoin’s value. And speaking of the NCUA, it will have to figure out how to accommodate the creation of a whole new supervisory and regulatory framework even as it is facilitating dramatic staff reductions.

Even if your credit union decides that it has no interest in getting anywhere near the stablecoin space, it will still have to be aware of developments in this area. Most importantly, the stablecoin represents a new type of risk to financial stability. Just as financial institutions were required to take a more proactive look at the potential impact of economic conditions on their loan portfolios following the “Mortgage Meltdown," the use of stablecoins represents a whole new area of risk. The simple truth is, with or without the use of subsidiaries, we don’t know what the immediate reaction will be when the first business can’t fund its stablecoin on a one-for-one basis.

Even if all goes according to plan, this is one more area where the big guys will have built-in advantages over the small guys. The idealist in me would like to see the industry respond to this reality by working to create industry-wide stablecoins that all credit unions could offer to their members irrespective of their size.

Like it or not, crypto is going mainstream. Now is the time to position your credit union to understand and maybe even benefit from all of the opportunities and risks that accompany this radical innovation. To be clear, no one knows exactly where this is going to take us, my only point is that like it or not, it will have an impact on your members for which you should be prepared.