Stablecoins are rapidly becoming a structural link between crypto markets, U.S. Treasury demand, and the global dollar system. In a November 14 post on X, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said stablecoins had “strengthened the US dollar’s reserve currency status massively,” underscoring the shift from crypto-only payment tools to dollar distribution infrastructure.
The numbers behind that view are substantial. Tether's third-quarter disclosure showed $191.5 billion in assets against $183.5 billion in liabilities, with direct and indirect Treasury bill exposure equal to roughly 69.2% of disclosed assets, or about $132.4 billion. Research published by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco found stablecoin issuers had increased Treasury holdings more than tenfold over five years, a rise equivalent to more than 40% of the reduction in China’s Treasury portfolio over the same period.
The Wall Street race has accelerated sharply. This week, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Santander, and Deutsche Bank were reported to be among banks committing roughly $270 million to “Project Faro,” a joint dollar-stablecoin venture. The capital funds five years of operations for a U.S.-incorporated issuer targeting a 2027 launch, backed by a 21-institution coalition that grew from an initial group of 10. The project’s explicit goal is to challenge Tether and Circle, which still control about 85% of a roughly $290 billion stablecoin market.
Meanwhile, incumbents are shipping products. SoFi expanded its SoFiUSD stablecoin to Polygon, adding to Ethereum and Solana, and launched SoFi Earn, a tokenized deposit paying 4.40% yield that converts into SoFiUSD. SoFi already settles its card program over Mastercard’s network. Anchorage Digital said its tokens can now settle on Visa’s network, starting with Western Union’s USDPT, and it has custodyed both sides of the U.S.-Mexico stablecoin corridor.
Payment networks are also deepening their infrastructure. Mastercard launched a Global Money Platform built with acquired stablecoin firm BVNK, rolled out a Stablecoin Security tool, and unveiled Agent Pay for Machines to let AI agents transact in stablecoins. Visa expanded its own stablecoin settlement program across multiple blockchains. Circle, not to be left behind, struck a deal to bring USDC settlement to banking rails in Latin America, beginning with a Colombia pilot.
The catalyst is regulatory clarity from the GENIUS Act, signed in 2025, which created the first U.S. framework for dollar-pegged tokens. The Federal Reserve’s November 13 Financial Stability Report highlighted the risks: stablecoin activity remains concentrated among major issuers, and a redemption wave could transmit stress into short-term dollar funding markets. Still, the direction is clear—stablecoins are extending the dollar’s reach beyond traditional banking and turning the onchain dollar into contested financial infrastructure.
