Bessent Tells Swell That Stablecoins Will Help Fund the Treasury

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Ripple's Swell conference on Tuesday, Oct. 27, that dollar stablecoins are "going to be an important source of funding for the Treasury."

More than 90% of stablecoins are pegged to the dollar, Bessent said, and issuers back them largely with government debt, American Banker reported. Dollar stablecoins totaled nearly $280 billion at the end of 2025, a Brookings paper shows.

He sat on stage with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, who called it "an honor" on X. Treasury hadn't posted a transcript or readout by 9 p.m. ET Wednesday, its press page shows.

Stablecoins as the answer to CBDCs

He called stablecoins "backed by U.S. regulation" but issued by private firms "the answer to central bank digital currencies," American Banker reported.

He gave no dollar figure or date.

Agencies step in after CLARITY stalled

With no market-structure law, Bessent said regulators could "convene" to set crypto rules, American Banker reported. Bitcoin.com News reported he named the SEC and CFTC and called the bill's failure a disappointment. Citing attendees, it said he wants regulators to set "guardrails" against debanking crypto firms.

The bill fell short of the 60 Senate votes needed to advance on Sept. 15, Senate records show. Sen. Thom Tillis voted no so he could bring it back, Reuters reported.

The case against a Treasury windfall

Nellie Liang and William Dudley wrote that the net effect on federal debt costs is "likely to be negligible." New stablecoin buying may displace banks and money funds that already hold bills, they said. Dudley sits on Coinbase's advisory council, the Brookings paper discloses.

In our opinion: the pitch gets a test date. The GENIUS Act takes effect Jan. 18, 2027, per the OCC's final rule, and issuer reserve reports will show how many bills they buy.