In the New Wave of Digital Finance, Stablecoins Are Not Disruptors of the Old System, but More Like a 'Digital Relay Station of the Bretton Woods System'—Carrying Dollar Credit, Anchoring U.S. Treasury Assets, and Reshaping Global Settlement Order.
I. Historical Retrospective: Three Structural Leaps of Dollar Hegemony
Phase Constructing the Foundation Monetary Anchor System Features
1944–1971 (Bretton Woods) Post-War U.S. Treasuries + Gold Reserves Dollar Convertible to Gold (35 Dollars/Ounce) Interstate Settlement System Centered on the Dollar
1971–2008 (Era of Credit Money) U.S. Treasuries Became Global Reserve Assets Dollar Pegged to 'U.S. Treasury' Credit Federal Reserve Controls Global Liquidity, Strengthening Dollar Hegemony
2008–2020 (Era of Quantitative Easing) Unlimited QE + Global Capital Flowing Back to the Dollar Continuous Expansion of U.S. Treasuries with No Physical Anchor Excess Liquidity in the Dollar System, Initial Signs of Trust Erosion
The New Phase After 2020 is the Digitization, Programmability, and Fragmentation of the Foundation of Dollar Credit, with Stablecoins as the Key Connecting Body in This Reconstruction.
II. The Essence of Stablecoins: The On-Chain 'Dollar-U.S. Treasury' Pegging Mechanism
Stablecoin (Stablecoin), Especially the Dollar-Pegged USDC, FDUSD, PYUSD, Has an Issuance Mechanism of 'On-Chain Dollar Certificates + U.S. Treasury or Cash Reserves', Forming a Simplified Version of the 'Bretton Mechanism':
Components Bretton Era On-Chain Stablecoin Era
Currency Unit U.S. Dollar Bills Stablecoin Tokens (USDC, etc.)
Supporting Assets Gold Reserves U.S. Treasuries + U.S. Dollar Cash
Circulation System National Central Banks + Banks Blockchain Networks + Wallets
Clearing Mechanism SWIFT + RTGS On-Chain Native Clearing and Settlement
Source of Trust Dollar-Gold Peg Dollar-On-Chain Asset Anchoring
This Indicates: The Stablecoin System Essentially Reconstructs a 'Digital Version of the Bretton Woods Framework', Only the Anchor has Shifted from Gold to U.S. Treasuries, from National Settlement to On-Chain Consensus.
III. The Role of U.S. Treasuries: The 'New Reserve Gold' Behind Stablecoins
Currently, the Reserve Structure of Mainstream Stablecoins has the Highest Proportion of U.S. Treasuries, Especially Short-Term T-Bills (1-3 Month Treasury Bills):
USDC: Over 90% Reserve Allocation in Short-Term U.S. Treasuries + Cash;
FDUSD: 100% Cash + T-Bills;
Tether is Also Gradually Increasing the Weight of U.S. Treasuries and Reducing Commercial Paper.
▶ Why Have U.S. Treasuries Become the 'Hard Currency' of On-Chain Finance?
Highly Liquid, Suitable for Handling Large On-Chain Redemptions;
Stable Returns, Can Provide Yield Spread for Issuers;
Backed by Dollar Sovereign Credit, Enhancing Market Confidence;
Compliance-Friendly, Can Serve as Regulated Reserve Assets.
From this Perspective, Stablecoins are 'New Bretton Tokens Using T-Bills as Gold', Embedded with the Credit System of the U.S. Treasury.
IV. Stablecoins = Extension of Dollar Sovereignty, Not Diminishment
Although On the Surface, Stablecoins Are Issued by Private Institutions, Which Seems to Weaken Central Bank Control Over the Dollar. But Essentially:
Every Issue of USDC Must Correspond to 1 Dollar of U.S. Treasuries/Cash;
Every On-Chain Transaction is Valued in 'Dollar Units';
Every Global Circulation of Stablecoins Expands the Radius of U.S. Dollar Use.
This Allows the U.S. to 'Air Drop' Dollars into Global Wallets Without Needing SWIFT or Military Projection, Representing a New Paradigm of Outsourcing Monetary Sovereignty.
Therefore We Say:
Stablecoins are the 'Unofficial Contractors' of U.S. Monetary Hegemony
—— It Does Not Replace the Dollar, But Pushes the Dollar On-Chain, Towards Globalization, and Towards a 'Bankless Zone'.
V. The Prototype of Bretton 3.0 System is Emerging: Digital Dollar + On-Chain U.S. Treasuries + Programmable Finance
In This Framework, the Global Financial System Will Evolve into the Following Model:
Constituent Elements Representation Future State
Digital Currency USDC, FDUSD, CBDC Used for Payments, Settlements, DeFi, and Other Scenarios
Digital Assets Tokenized T-Bills, Treasury ETFs On-Chain Programmable 'Digital Gold'
Regulatory Framework GENIUS Act (U.S.), MICA (EU), Monetary Authority Framework (Hong Kong) Compliance Licensing System is Becoming Increasingly Established
Clearing and Settlement System Blockchain + Layer 2 + DeFi Protocols Achieving a 24/7 Global Clearing System
Monetary Anchor U.S. Treasuries + U.S. Dollar Cash U.S. Treasury Credit as the System Anchor
This Means: The Future Bretton Woods System Will No Longer Occur at the Bretton Woods Conference Table, But Will Be Negotiated and Reached Consensus Between Smart Contract Codes, On-Chain Asset Pools, and API Interfaces.
VI. Risks and Uncertainties: How Far Can This System Go?
Risk Dimension Form of Representation Essence of Risk
Geopolitics Weaponization of the Dollar, On-Chain Sanctions Non-Dollar Countries or Opponents of Dollar Hegemony Will Develop Parallel Systems
Credit Risk of U.S. Treasuries Continuous Deterioration of U.S. Finances, Political Struggles Over Debt Ceiling The Foundation of Stablecoin Pegs is Shaking
Technical Security Risks Smart Contract Attacks, Wallet Hacks Decentralized Systems Cannot Bear Systemic Trust
Fragmentation of Compliance Regulatory Inconsistency and Conflicts Among Countries Stablecoins Face Cross-Border Compliance Obstacles
VII. Conclusion: Stablecoins are Not the End, But a 'Mid-Game Supply Station' for U.S. Dollar Global Governance
Stablecoins May Seem Like Private Innovation, but They Are Becoming a 'De Facto Bridge' for the U.S. Government's Digital Currency Strategy:
It Connects Old Finance (U.S. Treasuries) with New Finance (DeFi);
It Extends U.S. Financial Sovereignty to the Smart Contract Layer;
It Allows the Dollar to Maintain Its Dominance in Digital Transformation.
Just as the Bretton Woods System Established Dollar Credit through Gold Pegging, Today's Stablecoins are Attempting to Rewrite Monetary Governance Structures with 'On-Chain T-Bills + Dollar Settlement Consensus.'
Stablecoins Are Not a Revolution, but a Reconstruction of U.S. Treasuries, a Remaking of the Dollar, and an Extension of Sovereignty.
