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33 sats \ 6 replies \ @Undisciplined 17h \ on: Putin Adviser Alleges US Will Use Stablecoins to Address Debt econ
I don't see how it could eliminate the debt, but it's a pretty standard take that stablecoins will be used to soak up new debt issuance.
I didn't understand either so I asked ChatGPT. The response seems relatively well thought out:
Here’s a breakdown of what Putin adviser Anton (sometimes referred to as Dmitry) Kobyakov claimed—and what that could mean, hypothetically:
What Did Kobyakov Actually Say?
At the Eastern Economic Forum on September 6, 2025, Kobyakov alleged that the United States is planning a crypto-based strategy to offload or “erase” its roughly $35–$37 trillion national debt. His key claim:
- The U.S. would convert part of its government debt into stablecoins, placing it in a so-called “crypto cloud,” then devalue that debt and “start from scratch” (CryptoSlate, Cointelegraph, Mitrade).
He framed it as a deliberate scheme, echoing past U.S. maneuvers (1930s, 1970s) to restructure financial obligations at global expense (CryptoSlate, The Economic Times).
Is There Any Basis to This—And What Could It Mean?
1. Real Strategy or Rhetoric?
There is no known official U.S. policy to tokenize—or “offload”—its national debt via stablecoins. Rather, this appears to be a rhetorical claim rather than evidence-backed:
- The stablecoin market remains extremely small compared to U.S. debt—just hundreds of billions vs. trillions in obligations (Mitrade).
2. Current U.S. Policy on Stablecoins
- In July 2025, the U.S. passed the GENIUS Act, which regulates stablecoins by requiring full backing in cash or short-term U.S. Treasury securities. The purpose was to enhance transparency and legitimacy, not erase debt (Wikipedia, Mitrade, CoinCentral).
- U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent views stablecoins as a tool to boost demand for U.S. Treasuries, especially short-term bills, and support the dollar’s global role—not to devalue debt (Reuters, Financial Times).
3. How Stablecoins Actually Interact with U.S. Debt
- Right now, stablecoin issuers (like Tether, Circle) are buying Treasuries to back their tokens. This increases demand for debt, potentially lowering yields modestly—a far cry from eliminating or devaluing debt (Reuters, arXiv).
- For instance, study shows Tether’s holdings of U.S. T-bills may save the government up to $15 billion per year in interest costs—not wipe out debt (arXiv).
Hypothetical Mechanisms—If One Slipped Through the Legal Net
Even if one imagines a future where debt is converted into stablecoin form, several massive legal, financial, and technical hurdles exist:
-
Tokenization of Debt Instruments
- The government (or authorized entities) would issue a token representing a claim on Treasury assets.
-
Redenomination or Transfer
- Legal frameworks and accounting rules would be required to reclassify debt as tokenized.
-
Valuation and Market Dynamics
- If tokenized instruments trade at a discount or are devalued, that could theoretically reduce the real value of debt on paper—but this risks global destabilization without explicit legislation.
No such mechanism currently exists or is under serious discussion in U.S. policymaking (CoinCentral, Bitget).
Summary Table
| Claim by Kobyakov | U.S. Reality | Plausibility |
|---|---|---|
| Convert public debt into stablecoins and devalue it | No evidence of such a plan; stablecoins are backed by Treasuries and increase demand | Very low—mostly speculative or rhetorical |
| Stablecoins used to effectively erase part of the debt | Current policies aim to support demand for Treasuries, not devalue them | Highly unlikely without massive legal and monetary changes |
| Stablecoins could drastically reshape the dollar’s role | Policymakers see stablecoins as preserving, not undermining, dollar | Possible as policy evolves—but no such shift yet |
Bottom Line
Kobyakov’s comments appear to be accusatory rhetoric rather than a reflection of concrete planning. While stablecoins and tokenized Treasuries are growing in financial influence, they are currently serving—if anything—as a source of demand and stability for U.S. debt markets, not a means to erase obligations.
If you'd like, I can walk you through how the GENIUS Act works, what legal hurdles would exist for staggering moves like tokenized debt, or how stablecoins' backing in Treasuries affects interest rates.
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I don't really see why they would go that route, rather than just continuing the soft default of normal money printing.
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I think probably the Russian was just speaking off the cuff, and there's no real concrete plan to use Stablecoins as a subtle default strategy
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I think it is part of a default strategy, but it's just an extension of the strategy they've been pursuing for the past century rather than a brand new one.
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Thanks. Does it make sense to you now? It still does not make sense to me. How do you devalue ‘tokenised instruments’ that are denominated in the base currency?
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Eliminating trillions in debt sounds like a pretty wild claim to me. There's no way you can just wipe out that much debt. I posted that more as a heads-up to the community about what they're cooking up with this stablecoin law stuff.
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