Stablecoin issuers now hold over $120 billion in US Treasury notes, becoming the 18th largest holder of US Debt and overtaking numerous nations. Out of the $120 billion, Circle holds about $29 billion and Tether holds a whopping $91 billion. The former holds short-dated US Debt, like repos, and the latter holds Treasuries.
However, concerns begin to mount as demand for US Debt grows in the crypto industry and elsewhere, and the US needs to consider appropriate debt management measures. Rising debt levels can cause a sharp drop in the strength of the Dollar and even rile up political uncertainty, also called Liz-Truss-style market chaos. The US government has surpassed $34 trillion in debt this year, with interest payments expected to hit $892 billion by year-end. Analysts speculate the country’s debt will reach $50 trillion in the next ten years.
Stablecoin issuers back their dollar-pegged assets with cash and its equivalents, like the US Debt. Cash and debt instruments serve multiple purposes for stablecoin firms. Beyond backing the on-chain assets, they earn companies like Tether and Circle tremendous revenues through interest. So, their business model requires them to leverage US Debt to generate profits.
And they can acquire a lot of US Debt because of the demand their stablecoins witness within the crypto ecosystem. They function as a convenient and crucial tool to store value, trade, and transact on-chain. That demand is pushing legislators in the US to issue and pass the first-ever stablecoin bill in the country, which will favor the asset and its users.
Many believe stablecoins will get legitimized before the elections this year. Legislators attempted to include stablecoin regulations in must-move bills earlier this year but failed. They now look forward to the lame-duck period to attempt it again and hopefully succeed. The lame-duck period is the time between the election and the president-elect formally stepping into office a few months later.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
