Key Takeaways Unlike cash, stablecoin transactions are recorded on public ledgers, creating an easily auditable and transparent trail of your activity, linking it to everything you do that involves a transaction.
Control mechanisms are built into the system, which means issuers can freeze or blacklist wallets in response to sanctions, court orders, or compliance requirements.
The crypto community remains divided, some view regulated stablecoins as a bridge between digital assets and the mainstream financial system. while others see them as an enhanced form financial surveillance and discretionary control.
Stablecoins could evolve into a neutral payment infrastructure that broadens access to dollar liquidity and increases global demand for the USD, but they could also very much reflect the priorities of the regulators and issuers.
For decades, the US dollar has been more than a currency. It has functioned as infrastructure.
Access to the dollar system, through global banking networks, correspondent accounts, and the SWIFT messaging system, has long given Washington leverage over trade, capital flows, and sanctions enforcement. Recent geopolitical tensions have only made that reality more visible.
Now, a quieter shift is underway. As US policymakers continue to distance themselves from the idea of a central bank digital currency, interest is growing around a different tool: USD-backed stablecoins.
High ranking US officials, such as Scott Bessent, have framed regulated stablecoins as a way to strengthen global demand for dollars, particularly in regions where traditional banking access is limited.
This raises a broader question. If stablecoins increasingly function as digital dollars in practice, extending dollar reach while operating on public blockchains, are they becoming a new layer of US monetary infrastructure?
And if so, what does that mean for financial power, privacy, and the future shape of the dollar system?
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