Source: Blockchain Knight
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that in the next few years, the demand for U.S. government bonds in the digital asset sector may surge, with a potential scale of up to $2 trillion.
Bessent made the remarks at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee on the global financial system, where he emphasized the growing financial importance of digital assets to the broader economy.
Bessent said that the United States must take the lead in setting global standards for the Crypto asset market, and he pointed out that the United States has the opportunity to benefit from it while leading innovation.
He pointed to the increasing integration of stablecoins and other blockchain-based financial products with the U.S. dollar and U.S. Treasury markets as an example, which shows that digital assets can support the national financial interests of the United States.
Stablecoin Growth Drives Treasury Demand
Most of the expected demand comes from stablecoins. Currently, stablecoins rely heavily on short-term U.S. Treasury bonds to maintain their reserves.
As of the end of March, Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer, held nearly $120 billion worth of short-term U.S. Treasury bonds as reserves for USDT. Meanwhile, Circle, which issues USDC, reported holding more than $22 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds as of February 2025.
As the circulation of stablecoins increases and global demand rises, the demand for low-risk assets such as Treasury bonds as corresponding collateral also grows.
The connection between digital assets and the U.S. debt market is becoming increasingly close, as private stablecoin issuers are increasingly becoming stable institutional buyers of U.S. Treasury bonds.
This emerging source of demand may add new resilience and liquidity to the U.S. Treasury market, especially amid widespread concerns about overseas investors' willingness to buy U.S. Treasuries.
Congress Weighs New Legislation
Proposed legislation aimed at clarifying the role of stablecoin issuers in the U.S. Treasury market ecosystem has further strengthened expectations of potential demand growth.
The Stablecoin Trust and Bank License Enforcement Act of 2025 (STABLE Act of 2025) and the Government Digital Currency Innovation and User Security Act of 2025 (GENIUS Act of 2025), both of which are currently under consideration in Congress, would require stablecoin issuers to fully collateralize their stablecoins with high-quality liquid assets, including short-term Treasury bonds.
However, these bills may face delays due to political differences between Democrats and Republicans. Nine lawmakers recently withdrew their support for the bill, arguing that it lacked rules to adequately protect investors.
If these bills are passed, they would effectively require the entire stablecoin industry to invest in Treasury bonds, thereby integrating digital dollars more deeply into the U.S. financial infrastructure.
Supporters of these bills believe that such regulations will enhance trust in stablecoins while consolidating the dollar's dominance in digital markets.
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