A dollar-backed stablecoin has to hold real dollars, or short-term US government debt, to back every token it issues. The more people around the world use these stablecoins, especially in countries with weaker local currencies, the more Treasuries get bought to back them. Handing the expansion to private companies rather than a government agency lets Washington grow that demand without adding a formal state-backed currency to the mix.
The US is considering pushing dollar-backed stablecoins overseas through joint ventures with private companies.
The goal is to strengthen the dollar’s global position and create more demand for US Treasuries.
Meanwhile, China is expanding its digital yuan infrastructure and… pic.twitter.com/LPWGP5PJ05— CryptoSavingExpert ® (@CryptoSavingExp) September 24, 2026
China is running the same play, just with its own currency and banks
While Washington is looking to private companies to expand the dollar overseas, Beijing is pursuing a similar goal through its state-backed financial system.
The rollout already covers Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Laos, Thailand, the UAE, Qatar and Brazil, with more countries expected to follow, and much of the push is aimed at countries along China’s Belt and Road trade routes. Standard Chartered’s China CEO called it a way to make cross-border payments faster and push the yuan’s international use further, and industry sources briefed on the plan described it as Beijing is setting itself on a different, and possibly competing, path from the US in shaping how money moves globally.
The US model leans on betting that market incentives will do the expansion work. China’s model runs on betting that central coordination spreads the yuan faster and with more control over where it goes.
Can foreign users create new demand for US Treasuries?
Under the GENIUS Act, the law the US passed to regulate stablecoins, issuers are required to back their tokens only with cash, short-term Treasury bills, or similarly safe, easily sellable assets, which effectively locks in new Treasury demand as more tokens get issued.
The growth Washington actually wants comes from somewhere else entirely, someone converting Turkish lira, Nigerian naira, or Argentine pesos into a dollar stablecoin. New money enters the dollar system from outside it, and every one of those conversions becomes fresh demand for US government debt.
