The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is said to be looking into the possibility of allowing stablecoins to be accepted as collateral for use in derivatives markets. This would indeed be a landmark approval for digital assets to enter into the scope of traditional finance. If approved, stablecoins such as USDT, USDC, or DAI could be like digital cash within regulated markets, make settle faster and cheaper for market participants.

For Bitcoin Cash (BCH) or other altcoins, the above does not provide direct inclusion since these assets are volatile by nature and not considered as accepted collateral. However, the consequences will be overwhelming. Liquidity would increase in the entire crypto ecosystem, as now stablecoins would provide a smoother bridge from fiat to digital assets. This liquidity may indirectly benefit altcoins, as traders will be using stablecoin pairs to market their trades. At the same time, regulatory recognition of stablecoins deepens the divide between those things as "official digital cash" and altcoins as speculative instruments.

The challenge for BCH is to remain relevant beyond that of a trading asset. Its vision of being a pure peer-to-peer electronic cash system may continue to remain as an important narrative, especially if adoption and low-cost transactions become more relevant in a world dominated by stablecoins. Altcoins may generally need to find deeper integration with stablecoins, push for unique use cases, and create partnerships fostering utility outside of speculation.

In the larger picture, stablecoins, if they are collateralized, would act as official vouchers acceptable to regulators to let more capital flow across the marketplace. Altcoins, in the meantime, remain the various stalls in that marketplace, depending on whether users prefer to spend their vouchers there. Certainly, the market as a whole could become alive, but which assets survive will depend on the strength of the community, innovation, and real-world utility.