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Circle’s Tarbert says US stablecoin rules could strengthen dollar reach
Tarbert told Congress on Sept. 2 that regulated stablecoins could increase demand for short-term Treasuries, while central banks would still control official reserve decisions.
Circle president Heath Tarbert testified before Congress on Sept. 2 that placing digital-dollar infrastructure under US rules could reinforce the network effects that support the currency’s global role.
According to CryptoSlate, Tarbert framed stablecoin and digital asset legislation as a form of dollar statecraft, saying that regulated stablecoins could expand private use of dollar-denominated tokens, influence how issuers hold reserves, and add demand for short-term Treasuries.
Tarbert also drew a boundary between payment rails and monetary policy, arguing that payment technology cannot substitute for sound economic policy and that digital infrastructure alone cannot preserve dollar primacy without broader fundamentals.
The story notes that the dollar accounted for 57.1% of allocated global foreign exchange reserves in the first quarter of 2026, up from 56.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025, citing IMF COFER data, while BIS estimates that roughly 98% of stablecoin value is denominated in dollars. CryptoSlate adds that BIS expects near-term stablecoin effects to show up mainly in private stores of value and payment use rather than central banks’ official reserve, intervention, or anchor-currency functions.