Why Stablecoins Could Create Massive Demand for U.S. Treasuries
Adam Taggart | Thoughtful Money® Aug 30, 2026
Summary
Stablecoins could become massive structural buyers of U.S. T-bills, since issuers back tokens with Treasury reserves held primarily in T-bills.
The U.S. could engineer two dollar environments: high international demand while keeping domestic financing costs lower than abroad.
The traditional 'petrodollar' framework could evolve into a 'petro-stablecoin' if energy exporters are encouraged to settle in dollar stablecoins.
Expanding stablecoin supply does not create new U.S. government liabilities — T-bills already exist; stablecoin issuers simply hold them.
A flywheel could form: global stablecoin demand drives token issuance, which pulls T-bills into reserves and may lower U.S. funding costs.
Michael Every's takeaways
- Top takeaway Argues the US could use stablecoin-driven offshore demand to maintain dollar dominance internationally without expanding Treasury supply, since T-bill-backed stablecoins absorb foreign demand and let Treasury strategically calibrate issuance
- Proposes leaning on major energy exporters like Saudi Arabia to settle oil in dollar stablecoins, calling the setup 'petrostablecoin' as the successor to the petrodollar
- Claims paying for imports in dollar stablecoins keeps the underlying T-bills inside US entities (held by the stablecoin issuer), so no dollars physically leave the US for the goods — a balance sheet dynamic he says current accounting frameworks don't capture
- Suggests the US could split global interest rates, paying a higher dollar rate abroad than at home, since offshore stablecoin demand would bid up the offshore rate regardless of domestic conditions
- Concludes that stablecoins do not increase US sovereign liabilities as long as Treasury supply isn't expanded to back them, calling the arrangement 'a good gig if you can get it'