U.S. Eyes Global Stablecoin Push to Unlock New Treasury Demand

The U.S. government is considering how to support dollar-denominated stablecoin projects overseas as officials explore another potential source of demand for U.S. government debt.

Bloomberg reported on September 23 that the Treasury Department, State Department and U.S. International Development Finance Corporation are in talks to form public-private partnerships, but did not announce any country, partners, funding commitments or timelines.

The talks build on Washington’s argument that regulated stablecoins can help expand dollar use worldwide and funnel reserves into short-term government securities.

On Sept. 22, Deputy Treasury Secretary Francis Brooke said stablecoin issuers already own nearly $200 billion in Treasury bills and other short-term securities, and that they may hold more as the rules implementing the GENIUS Act are finalized.

Treasury officials have said that the holdings observed are representative of the entire stablecoin market, and no U.S. government-backed US stablecoin project has been announced in relation to the foreign effort.

The GENIUS Act provides the regulatory framework behind that mechanism, requiring payment stablecoin issuers to hold reserves equal to the dollar value of all outstanding tokens.