U.S. Treasury Says U.S. 'Will Win in the Digital Asset Stack’ as Clarity Act Stalls

Bitcoin Magazine
U.S. Treasury Says U.S. ‘Will Win in the Digital Asset Stack’ as Clarity Act Stalls

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that American leadership in digital assets could reinforce the dollar’s global position, even as Congress has stalled on the market-structure legislation meant to govern them.

Speaking at Ripple’s Swell conference in New York with CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Bessent argued that the foundations of reserve-currency power are shifting. For much of modern history, he said, the dollar’s dominance rested largely on military strength. 

“We will keep our military umbrella, but increasingly, it becomes a technological umbrella,” he said. 

He grouped digital assets with artificial intelligence and semiconductors as areas where the United States and China are competing to build dominant infrastructure, and suggested the financial rails countries choose will shape the dollar’s reach.

The most concrete link he drew runs through stablecoins, dollar-pegged tokens whose issuers typically hold reserves that include U.S. Treasury securities. Bessent said stablecoins could give people in countries with high inflation or volatile currencies easier access to dollars. 

CoinGecko data puts the share of stablecoins denominated in dollars above 98%, with Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC the largest. Bessent himself put the figure above 90%. The exact number differs, but the dollar clearly dominates the category.

Bessent has also argued that stablecoin reserves could increase demand for Treasury debt. Last year he suggested stablecoins could generate $2 trillion in short-term demand for Treasuries and bills. That projection depends on how quickly stablecoin supply grows, what reserve rules apply, and how issuers choose to invest.

Bitcoin traded around $80,000 to $81,000 this week ahead of the Federal Reserve decision. Bitcoin advocates have long argued that a neutral, non-issuer asset offers something different from dollar-pegged tokens.

Broader crypto legislation trends

The regulatory backdrop is more uncertain. The Comptroller of the Currency has finalized its rule implementing the GENIUS Act, which sets requirements for payment stablecoin issuers. The federal framework takes effect January 18, 2027. 

The broader CLARITY Act, which would establish market-structure rules for digital assets, failed a Senate procedural vote on September 15, 49 to 50, short of the 60 votes needed. Disputes included ethics provisions related to federal officials’ crypto interests and stablecoin yield. 

Banks and the White House clashed over those yield terms.

Treasury Bessent’s willingness to work around Clarity Act failure

Bessent called the setback disappointing. He said Treasury could work with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to address regulatory gaps. “At Treasury, we have a lot of convening powers,” he said, describing the agencies as “great partners.” 

He also said regulators could set guardrails to prevent banks from cutting off crypto firms, a practice known as debanking. 

“I think we can set up regulatory best practices, guardrails that will prevent that from happening again,” he said.

Those remarks did not set out a formal plan, working group, or timeline. Agency action can clarify rules within existing authority, but it lacks the permanence of an act of Congress, and it can be reversed by a future administration. 

Next week’s midterm elections could further stall the CLARITY Act, according to TD Cowen.

This post U.S. Treasury Says U.S. ‘Will Win in the Digital Asset Stack’ as Clarity Act Stalls first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.