Washington Is Betting on a Very American Version of Digital Dollars

*Saleha Mohsin for Bloomberg News*

The dollar has survived many obituary notices: the end of the gold peg, the rise of the euro, an American-made global financial crisis, China’s ascent and years of periodic talk of de-dollarization. The greenback remains at the center of global commerce, sitting on one end of almost 90% of transactions in the $9.6 trillion-a-day currency market. In second place? The euro, at 30%. Still, the almighty buck entered this decade looking less invincible, due in part to US fiscal deterioration and to the Biden administration’s sanctions on Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Washington’s answer to the future of dollar hegemony is striking. Rather than rely on a central bank digital currency (CBDC), or wait for public institutions to modernize payments, it has placed a strategic bet on private digital dollars. The GENIUS Act, signed into law in July, created the first comprehensive US regulatory framework for payment stablecoins and handed the US Treasury Department a central role in writing the rules. The law “represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand dollar dominance and US influence in financial innovation,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on X two months before the bill was passed.

The logic is straightforward: If the next era of money is digital, the United States should make sure that digital money still speaks with an American accent. Seen that way, the GENIUS Act is more than fintech legislation. It is industrial policy for the dollar. By embracing stablecoins, the US has made a calculated bet on the rails. Whether it has done enough to protect the foundation is another matter.

[Read the full essay here.](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-22/how-stablecoins-became-part-of-america-s-dollar-strategy?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc3OTQ3MTk3MSwiZXhwIjoxNzgwMDc2NzcxLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJURkZGRzJLSUpIQ1YwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJEMzU0MUJFQjhBQUY0QkUwQkFBOUQzNkI3QjlCRjI4OCJ9.MbeQfZm3lSnT1cKeFBm-ofE9xj37jcFOCEq41RcOq_E)

The only way a digital dollar will have an American accent is if it is full private custody, privacy, irrevocable, and outside their purview.