U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent: The U.S. dollar still accounts for 89.2% of global foreign exchange trading! Stablecoins are merely a digital extension of dollar hegemony

According to BTC Circle (120BTC.COM), on September 16, Beijing time, The New York Times published an article warning about the risks of the U.S. fiscal structure and the wave of de-dollarization. In response, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent firmly refuted this on the X platform. He cited market data indicating that the dollar is currently deeply involved in 89.2% of global foreign exchange trading. In addition to the dominance in the foreign exchange market, he also listed record median household income, historically low poverty rates, and a robust job market, along with the Atlanta Federal Reserve's prediction of a GDP growth rate of 5.1% for the third quarter, as core evidence of the strong resilience of the U.S. economy.

Stablecoins are merely a digital extension of dollar hegemony

Bessent's perspective on crypto assets is quite enlightening. Currently, the total market value of global stablecoins has surpassed $250 billion, with mainstream assets like USDT and USDC pegged to the dollar. He believes that the prosperity of blockchain cross-border payments and storage scenarios fundamentally relies on the credit of the dollar. This means that crypto technology has not disrupted fiat currencies; rather, it serves as a channel for the dollar system to penetrate beyond traditional banking. This logic aligns with the strategies of Wall Street institutions, such as BlackRock's recent frequent investments in tokenized funds linked to USDC, indicating that traditional finance is accelerating the incorporation of stablecoins into its underlying business framework. Additionally, Bessent views Saudi Arabia's withdrawal from the China-led mBridge cross-border digital currency project as another testament to the consolidation of the dollar's status, although the Financial Times pointed out that this move merely represents the completion of the concept validation phase.

U.S. Treasury liquidity under pressure

Behind the defense of fiat currency status, the U.S. bond market is facing substantial tests. On September 22, Beijing time, the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury bond briefly reached 5%, raising market concerns about worsening fiscal deficits and potential inflation. In response to speculation that the Treasury has been artificially suppressing yields through large-scale repurchases of long-term bonds since July, Bessent explicitly denied this. He clarified that the related operations are purely aimed at optimizing market liquidity and debt maturity structure, and are not intended to manipulate the Treasury bond market, which exceeds $30 trillion in scale. However, whether private investors can continue to absorb the massive amount of Treasury bonds remains uncertain. If yields continue to rise, the costs of corporate financing and housing loans will inevitably come under pressure, further undermining macroeconomic growth expectations.

The monetary system faces multi-track restructuring

Objectively, the long-term operational logic of the dollar still faces multiple structural challenges. First, the local currency settlement mechanisms within BRICS countries are gradually expanding, and the de-dollarization process has a clear direction. Second, sovereign digital currencies (CBDCs) and crypto payment systems are running in parallel, with the steady advancement of the digital yuan and digital euro paving the way for alternative payment networks. At the same time, although the current stablecoin market is dominated by the dollar, if large-scale stablecoins based on other fiat currencies or a basket of assets emerge in the future, the existing pattern will inevitably face reassessment. The crypto ecosystem's path dependence on a single fiat currency will ultimately depend on whether that fiat currency can maintain its absolute credit advantage.