Overview
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told attendees at Ripple’s Swell conference that U.S. leadership in digital assets is part of a broader technology competition with China and that the United States will “win in the digital asset stack.”
- Bessent argued that more than 90% of circulating stablecoins are pegged to the dollar and that issuers often hold U.S. government securities as reserves, a dynamic he said could raise demand for Treasuries and provide a new channel for government financing.
- With Congress unable to pass the Clarity Act, Bessent said the Treasury will use its convening role to push coordinated agency action with the SEC and CFTC to fill regulatory gaps left by the failed legislation.
- He proposed setting regulatory best practices and guardrails to address industry concerns about debanking, aiming to keep banks from cutting services to crypto firms and to preserve firms’ access to payment and custody services.
- The Trump administration’s GENIUS Act already establishes a federal stablecoin framework and the OCC has begun implementing rules, a backdrop that officials say could help onshore crypto activity and extend dollar access in emerging markets.