An adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin said the US is strategically using crypto and gold to devalue its debt to “urgently address the declining trust in the dollar.”
“The US is now trying to rewrite the rules of the gold and cryptocurrency markets. Remember the size of their debt — $35 trillion. These two sectors (crypto and gold) are essentially alternatives to the traditional global currency system,” Anton Kobyakov said at a press briefing on Monday at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, as reported by RussiaDirect.
“As in the 1930s and the 1970s, the US plans to solve its financial problems at the world’s expense — this time by pushing everyone into the ‘crypto cloud,’” Kobyakov said.
This would involve Washington moving its debt into US dollar stablecoins to devalue it, allowing the US to “start from scratch,” Kobyakov said, without explaining how stablecoins would actually devalue the debt.
One of the proposed implementations of the strategy is Senator Cynthia Lummis’ Bitcoin Act, which proposes the government buy 1 million Bitcoin over five years and hold it for 20 years unless it’s used to retire outstanding federal debt.
America’s debt problem isn’t slowing down
US national debt sits at $37.43 trillion — more than a 10-fold increase since 1981 — according to US Treasury data. In the 33 years before 1981, US debt held steady between $3.3 trillion and $3.66 trillion.
The US wants to use stablecoins for other political reasons
However, according to US officials, stablecoins focus more on ensuring that the US dollar remains the world’s dominant currency. “We will use stablecoins to do that,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in March.
Stablecoins may also drive demand for US debt instruments, which would reduce the risk of a failed debt auction and an attendant crisis, former House Speaker Paul Ryan said in July 2024.
“Stablecoins backed by dollars provide demand for U.S. public debt and a way to keep up with China.”
The US has made considerable progress since then, with President Donald Trump signing the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act) into law in July.
Russia has stablecoin plans, too
In June, Russian state media reported that a new Russian ruble-backed stablecoin — A7A5 — was in the works and would launch on Tron.
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It appears to be a move to reduce reliance on US dollar stablecoin Tether (USDT), which Russia has used to settle oil trades with China and India.
Although Russia banned crypto payments in 2022, it has become more open to the sector lately, permitting financial institutions to offer crypto-based products to accredited investors in May.
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