Treasury’s Bessent sees crypto as America’s next tool for keeping the U.S. dollar on top Speaking at Ripple’s conference, the U.S.
Treasury Secretary said the SEC and CFTC action could help fill the gap left by the Clarity Act’s failure, while curbing crypto debanking. – Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said U.S. leadership in digital assets could reinforce the dollar’s global dominance as technological strength becomes increasingly important to economic influence. – Bessent said Tuesday that the Treasury Department could work with the SEC and CFTC to clarify cryptocurrency rules after the failure to pass federal digital asset regulation, and establish safeguards against banks cutting off services to digital-asset businesses. – The Trump administration has passed the GENIUS Act, establishing federal rules for stablecoins, which Bessent argued was a way to expand global demand for U.S. dollars and Treasury debt
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said digital assets could help strengthen the U.S. dollar’s global dominance as technology becomes an increasingly important source of American economic influence. Speaking Tuesday at Ripple’s Swell conference with CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Bessent argued that the power behind the world’s reserve currencies during history derived from military strength, but it’s increasingly shifting toward technological leadership. “We will keep our military umbrella, but I think more and more it’s becoming a technology umbrella,” Bessent said.
He pointed to the growing divide between U.S. and Chinese technology ecosystems, where countries and companies face choices over whose artificial intelligence systems and semiconductor technology to adopt. Bessent said he sees digital assets as part of that competition, with the financial infrastructure countries may choose influencing the U.S. dollar’s reach. “I think that digital assets are going to be no different, and we are going to win in the digital asset stack, and that’s gonna continue to…