Are Stablecoins the Future of Digital Dollars?

In July 2025 Congress passed landmark stablecoin legislation. The bill – officially the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act of 2025 – creates the first federal framework for “payment stablecoins”. It passed the Senate and then cleared the House with strong bipartisan support (308–122), and was signed into law on July 18, 2025. Under the GENIUS Act, U.S. dollar–pegged stablecoins must be fully backed by liquid reserves (cash or short-term Treasury bills) and disclose their reserve holdings monthly.  Supporters say the law legitimizes digital dollars and could expand their use in everyday payments, while opponents warn of unresolved AML gaps. 

Global Developments: CBDCs and National Stablecoins

The U.S. is not alone in moving on digital currency. Many countries – especially China – are actively developing CBDCs or stablecoin-like tokens. China’s digital yuan (e-CNY) has already seen vast trials (estimated transactions over $7.3 trillion), and even China’s state media have urged issuance of yuan-backed stablecoins “sooner rather than later” now that the U.S. is formalizing dollar stablecoins. Hong Kong’s new Stablecoins Ordinance (effective Aug. 2025) similarly allows RMB or HKD-pegged coins under government oversight.  In Europe, the ECB is advancing plans for a digital euro to reinforce monetary sovereignty, and the Bank of England is designing a future digital pound, even if public uptake has been tepid so far.  In fact, by mid-2025 a record 49 governments had launched formal CBDC pilots.  In short, major economies are racing to digitize money – whether via central bank coins or regulated private stablecoins – to modernize payments and hedge against foreign stablecoin use. 

What Are Stablecoins and How Do They Differ from Bitcoin? 

Stablecoins are crypto tokens designed to keep a fixed value. Most are pegged 1:1 to a fiat currency (typically the U.S. dollar) or other liquid asset, and issuers hold reserves to maintain the peg. Because of this backing, stablecoins trade at roughly constant value, making them far less volatile than typical cryptocurrencies. For example, USDC and Tether (USDT) promise redeemability for one U.S. dollar at any time, so their market price hovers around $1. By contrast, Bitcoin is a non-pegged cryptocurrency with a freely floating price.  Bitcoin’s value can surge or plummet based on supply/demand and speculation, whereas a stablecoin’s design prevents big swings.  In essence, stablecoins act like digital cash (very low volatility), while Bitcoin behaves more like “digital gold” with high volatility.  This makes stablecoins useful for payments and transfers where price stability is required, unlike Bitcoin’s use case as an investment or store of value. 

Real-World Use Cases of Stablecoins 

Stablecoins have already gained real-world traction in payments and trading.  Crypto traders commonly use them as a “safe haven” during market swings or to move funds quickly between exchanges.  In fact, stablecoins now dominate on-chain transaction volumes: one Mckinsey report by By Matt Higginson with Garry Spanz estimate put global stablecoin flows over $27 trillion per year, exceeding even Visa’s network volume.  This reflects their role as a digital proxy for cash in crypto markets. But use is expanding beyond traders.  Because stablecoins hold value steadily, companies are exploring them for remittances and everyday transfers.  Big payments firms and banks (PayPal, Visa, banks) are integrating stablecoins into their platforms, and retail giants like Amazon and Walmart have publicly signaled interest in dollar-pegged coins for e-commerce.  The U.S. Treasury notes that stablecoins could bring “instant” settlement of dollar payments.  In summary, stablecoins serve as crypto-friendly dollar proxies: they facilitate cross-border transfers and online payments without the volatility of assets like Bitcoin. 

Stablecoins and U.S. Treasury Bonds 

A key technical detail is that issuers back USD stablecoins mainly with U.S. Treasury debt.  As a result, booming stablecoin adoption directly impacts the U.S. bond market.  Industry data show roughly 80% of stablecoin reserves sit in Treasury bills or repo agreements.  Leading issuers hold massive treasuries: for instance, Tether alone reported ~$120 billion in U.S. Treasuries (making it one of the top five buyers of U.S. debt). Policymakers expect this demand to rise. The new law’s sponsor Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted it will boost demand for U.S. Treasuries, which back stablecoins. It is highly likely that if USDC’s market cap grows, its issuer will have to purchase an equivalent amount of short-term Treasuries to maintain the peg. In practical terms, stablecoin issuers have become major purchasers of T-bills.  This new demand could help absorb the large federal debt issuance and may lower short-term yields, even as it makes U.S. government debt integral to digital-dollar stability. 

Impact on Investment Behavior and Financial Products 

Stablecoins are reshaping how investors think about digital assets. By law, they remain pegged and (in the U.S.) are not supposed to pay interest to holders. The GENIUS Act actually bans private stablecoin issuers from paying yields. This means stablecoins are essentially cash equivalents on the blockchain. Investors holding stablecoins must park them rather than earn return directly, so many “investors” use them as short-term liquidity.  In practice, this pushes yield-seekers into other avenues: for example, the ban on stablecoin interest contributed to a recent rally in Ethereum and DeFi tokens, as traders looked for yield elsewhere.  Meanwhile, traditional financial institutions are rushing to enter this space.  Major banks like Bank of America, Citi and others are developing their own dollar-token offerings.  Over time, regulated bank-issued stablecoins or tokenized deposits could compete with money-market funds and even savings accounts. Likewise, payment networks (Visa, Mastercard) and crypto exchanges are positioning stablecoins as payment alternatives. In short, investors may start viewing stablecoins as a new, ultra-safe “cash” allocation within a portfolio – albeit without yield – which in turn will pressure traditional cash-like products (like short-term bonds or bank deposits) to remain competitive. 

Adapting Portfolios in the Stablecoin Era 

Given these trends, investors may be tempted to treat stablecoins as part of their portfolio strategy — but it’s important to approach them with clarity. Stablecoins do not generate yields, especially when compared to traditional short-term bonds or money market funds. Moreover, while they are pegged to fiat currencies and backed by reserves, they also carry unique risks — such as being stolen through hacks, lost via private key mismanagement, or impacted by regulatory or technological disruptions. These risks make stablecoins inherently less secure than conventional “cash” investments like insured bank deposits or T-bill funds. 

Therefore, stablecoins should not be viewed as investments, but rather as tools for transfer, settlement, and short-term trading convenience — particularly within digital ecosystems. Their primary value lies in their speed, 24/7 availability, and interoperability with crypto platforms, not in any income-generating function. 

However, their growing adoption has notable implications for the broader bond market. Because most major stablecoins are backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries, their expansion creates additional, sustained demand for government debt. If stablecoin circulation grows substantially, this could support the Treasury market and exert downward pressure on yields, as issuers continuously purchase T-bills to maintain reserve backing. This bond demand from non-traditional buyers — namely, stablecoin issuers — could subtly reshape the dynamics of the short-term funding markets. 

In summary, stablecoins are best used as digital cash equivalents — valuable for liquidity and movement within the crypto and payment infrastructure, but not as return-generating investments. Investors should continue to rely on traditional instruments like T-bill ETFs, GICs, and money market funds for yield, while recognizing that stablecoins may still play a supporting role in asset transfer, rebalancing, or hedging against cross-border friction. Over time, their indirect effect — increasing demand for U.S. Treasuries — may help reinforce the role of U.S. debt as a global financial anchor. 

稳定币是数字美元的未来吗？ 

2025年7月，美国国会通过了一项具有里程碑意义的稳定币立法。该法案的正式名称为《2025年美国稳定币国家创新指导与确立法案》（Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins，简称 GENIUS 法案），首次建立了联邦层面的“支付稳定币”监管框架。该法案以两党强力支持在众议院以308票对122票通过，随后也获得参议院批准，并于2025年7月18日签署成为法律。 

根据 GENIUS 法案，锚定美元的稳定币必须完全由流动性储备（现金或短期美国国债）支持，并每月披露其储备状况。支持者认为这项法律使数字美元获得合法地位，有望扩大其在日常支付中的使用范围；而反对者则警告该法案在反洗钱（AML）方面仍存在漏洞。 

全球趋势：央行数字货币（CBDC）与国家级稳定币 

美国并不是唯一一个推进数字货币立法的国家。全球许多国家，尤其是中国，正积极推进央行数字货币或类稳定币代币的发展。中国的数字人民币（e-CNY）已经在多个地区进行了广泛试点，累计交易额据估算已超7.3万亿美元。甚至中国的官方媒体也在呼吁“宜早不宜迟”地发行人民币稳定币，尤其在美国确立美元稳定币监管制度之后更显紧迫。 

香港也于2025年8月实施《稳定币条例》，允许政府监管下的人民币或港币锚定稳定币发行。在欧洲，欧洲央行（ECB）正推进数字欧元计划以强化货币主权，而英国央行也在规划数字英镑，尽管公众接受度仍显疲弱。实际上，截至2025年年中，全球已有49个政府启动了正式的央行数字货币试点项目。 

简言之，世界主要经济体正在竞相数字化货币——不论是通过央行数字货币还是受监管的私人稳定币——以现代化支付系统并应对外币稳定币带来的挑战。 

什么是稳定币？它与比特币有何不同？ 

稳定币是一种旨在保持固定价值的加密代币。大多数稳定币以1:1锚定法币（通常是美元）或其他流动性资产，其发行方会持有储备以维持锚定汇率。由于有真实资产支持，稳定币的价格基本维持恒定，因此远不如比特币等加密货币波动剧烈。 

例如，USDC 和 Tether（USDT）承诺可随时按1美元兑换，因此其市场价格通常围绕1美元波动。而比特币并不锚定任何资产，价格随市场供需和投机而剧烈波动。 

本质上，稳定币更像是“数字现金”（极低波动性），而比特币则类似“数字黄金”（高波动性）。这使得稳定币更适用于需要价格稳定的支付与转账场景，而比特币则多被视为一种投机资产或价值存储手段。 

稳定币的实际应用场景 

稳定币已在支付与交易中获得实际应用。加密货币交易者常在市场波动时使用稳定币作为避风港，或在不同交易所之间快速转移资金。麦肯锡一份报告估算，全球稳定币的年交易量已超过27万亿美元，甚至超过了 Visa 网络的交易总量。 

这反映出稳定币在加密市场中充当了“数字现金”的角色。如今，使用场景正扩展到交易者之外。由于价值稳定，企业也开始尝试使用稳定币进行跨境汇款和日常转账。 

大型支付公司和银行（如 PayPal、Visa）正将稳定币集成进平台中，零售巨头如亚马逊和沃尔玛也公开表示对美元锚定币的兴趣。美国财政部指出，稳定币可能实现“即时”美元支付清算。 

总之，稳定币作为一种加密友好的美元替代品，正在被广泛应用于跨境转账与在线支付，优势在于其远低于比特币的价格波动性。 

稳定币与美国国债的关系 

一个关键技术点是：稳定币发行方主要以美国国债支持其美元稳定币。这意味着稳定币的大规模采用直接影响美国债券市场。据行业数据，大约80%的稳定币储备为短期国债或回购协议。以 Tether 为例，其报告显示持有约1200亿美元的美国国债，使其成为美国债券的前五大买家之一。 

财政部长、GENIUS 法案发起人 Scott Bessent 表示，此法案将推动美国国债需求上升，因为稳定币必须以国债做储备。如果 USDC 的市值上升，其发行方就必须相应地购买等额短期国债以维持锚定。 

简而言之，稳定币发行者已成为美国国债的重要买家。这种新增需求不仅有助于吸收庞大的联邦发债压力，还可能压低短期利率，使美国债务在数字美元体系中扮演更核心角色。 

对投资行为与金融产品的影响 

稳定币正在重塑投资者对数字资产的认知。根据法规，稳定币必须保持锚定（通常为美元），在美国也不得向持有者支付利息。GENIUS 法案甚至明确禁止私人发行方向持有者支付任何收益。 

这意味着稳定币本质上是区块链上的现金等价物。投资者持有稳定币不会直接获得回报，因此通常用于短期流动性管理。这一无息特征推动寻求收益的投资者转向其他渠道——例如，以太坊和 DeFi 代币近期上涨，部分正是因为投资者寻找替代性收益。 

与此同时，传统金融机构也在迅速进军该领域。美国银行（BofA）、花旗等大型银行正在开发自己的美元稳定币或代币化存款。随着时间推移，这些受监管的银行发行币可能与货币市场基金甚至储蓄账户展开竞争。 

同样，支付网络（如 Visa、Mastercard）和加密交易所也在将稳定币作为支付工具推广。投资者可能开始将稳定币视为投资组合中一种极为安全但不产生收益的“现金配置”，这将迫使短债、存款类传统金融产品提高竞争力。 

在稳定币时代调整投资组合 

鉴于这些趋势，投资者可能会尝试将稳定币纳入其投资组合策略——但必须清醒认识其属性。稳定币不产生收益，尤其在与传统短期债券或货币市场基金相比时更显劣势。 

此外，尽管它们锚定法币并有储备支持，但仍存在一些独特风险，例如被黑客盗取、私钥丢失、或受监管/技术变动影响。因此，稳定币并不如受保险保护的银行存款或 T-bill 基金那样安全。 

因此，稳定币不应被视为投资工具，而应作为转账、结算和短期交易便利的工具。它们的价值在于速度快、全天候可用、可与加密平台高度兼容——而非收益能力。 

不过，它们的广泛使用确实对债券市场产生了间接影响。由于大多数主流稳定币以短期美国国债为支持，其扩张将持续推高对国债的需求。一旦稳定币流通量大幅上升，发行方将持续购买国债维持储备，从而可能压低收益率。这种来自非传统买家的国债需求，有可能悄然重塑短期融资市场的结构。 

总结 

稳定币最适合作为“数字现金等价物”使用——可用于提升流动性和在加密与支付体系中的资金流通，但不应被视为收益工具。投资者应继续依赖如 T-bill ETF、GIC 和货币市场基金等传统工具来获取收益，同时认识到稳定币仍可在资产转移、组合再平衡或应对跨境摩擦时发挥辅助作用。 

长期来看，稳定币对美国国债的持续需求，可能进一步强化美国债务在全球金融体系中的锚定地位。