Tag: reserve currency
Bi-Weekly Geopolitical Report – The Geopolitics of US Dollar Stablecoins (March 9, 2026)
by Bill O’Grady | PDF
The expansion and regulation of stablecoins have become major policy goals of the Trump administration. This form of cryptocurrency has the potential to dramatically improve the transfer of funds between economic entities and could be a new source of demand for US Treasurys. In this report, we will define what stablecoins are and then examine the evolving regulatory framework, how the emerging stablecoin market relates to monetary and geopolitical history, and the ways in which stablecoins could become a tool of geopolitical power for the US. As always, we will conclude with market ramifications.
What Are Stablecoins?
Cryptocurrencies are currency-like assets that are transferred on permissionless blockchains. This means that a public ledger exists (the blockchain) where a buyer and a seller of a particular cryptocurrency can engineer a transfer without using an existing banking system. Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency designed to hold a stable asset value relative to a fiat currency.[1] They differ from Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other cryptocurrencies, as these are not usually tied to any particular asset and thus their prices often fluctuate wildly. The initial use case for stablecoins was to offer holders of traditional cryptocurrencies an “off-ramp” from their cryptocurrency holdings.
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Bi-Weekly Geopolitical Podcast – #63 “The Bessent Gambit” (Posted 3/28/25)
Bi-Weekly Geopolitical Report – The Bessent Gambit (March 24, 2025)
by Bill O’Grady | PDF
Before the election, there was a sense developing that suggested a major shift in how the US manages the global financial system. This vibe was described as the “Mar-a-Lago Accord,” suggesting the changes were similar in magnitude to historic events such as the Bretton Woods Agreement, Nixon’s closure of the gold window, and the Plaza Accord. In recent weeks, articles and podcasts have emerged which discuss some of the ideas that are percolating. In this report, we lay out the issues facing the US economy, Treasury Secretary Bessent’s plans to address them (at least what we know so far), the likelihood that these plans would be implemented, and the associated potential market ramifications.