At the Moonshots LIVE event, Nihil Chandhok, a representative of Circle, stated that resistance to dollar stablecoins could hinder the U.S. from attracting up to $1 trillion in foreign demand for the dollar. He estimated that around $3 trillion is constantly 'in transit' within the international banking system, idling due to outdated settlement protocols. 'Why don’t you want this, America? You could attract a trillion dollars from around the world because they believe in the dollar,' he said. Chandhok clarified that he was referring to potential demand, not losses for the U.S. or an official estimate of specific restrictions.
Circle is developing this area through USDC. In July, the company and Fireblocks linked USDC settlement tools for institutions, giving Fireblocks clients access to Gateway and Payments Network with local currency payouts in over 50 countries. Such payments can occur in minutes instead of multi-day correspondent routes. In the second quarter of 2026, stablecoins accounted for 69% of the transaction volume with digital assets on the Fireblocks platform.
Chandhok connected the topic to U.S. national debt. Under the GENIUS Act, issuers of payment stablecoins are required to hold reserves equal to the volume of issued tokens, including short-term treasury securities. An analysis by the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee based on data up to September 2025 estimated an increase in Tether and Circle's investments in treasury bills by $70 billion since 2022. On September 24, the Federal Reserve released draft rules on stablecoin reserves, listing short-term bills among acceptable assets. A decision on the bank's application is allotted 120 days, with 60 days for comments. Major restrictions for issuers are expected to take effect on January 18, 2027.
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