It was the dollar. Not the theoretical native value of crypto whitepapers, but the hegemonic, meticulously engineered dollar that underwrites global power and American primacy.

And so, when the U.S. Senate approves a bipartisan bill to regulate stablecoins—those crypto-assets pegged to the U.S. dollar - it isn't just about financial innovation. It is about sovereignty.

The GENIUS Act and the New Regulatory Perimeter

In June, the U.S. Senate passed the GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act) with a bipartisan vote of 68–30, signalling strong cross-party support for stablecoin regulation. The bill is now tabled for second reading before the House of Representatives, which is concurrently working on its own version, the STABLE Act (Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy Act).

Though the two chambers differ in legislative language, they share broadly aligned goals. The House version is attracting even greater bipartisan backing, increasing expectations of a swift reconciliation process. Lawmakers are aiming to consolidate the two into a final compromise bill before year-end, a timeline seen as realistic due to the executive branch's backing and the urgency placed on the issue. Observers expect the GENIUS Act to provide the structural basis for the unified legislation.

The legislation creates a regulatory framework that gives both federal and state authorities oversight over dollar-backed tokens, particularly those issued by nonbanks. The bill requires full reserve backing, prohibits algorithmic stablecoins, and authorizes state-chartered issuers under national standards. Critics will nitpick the usual turf war between state-chartered issuers and the Federal Reserve, but the strategic subtext is hard to miss: this is the first real move to anchor the digital dollar into the U.S. security architecture.

Re-centralisation in the Age of Tokens

This is not a Silicon Valley experiment in decentralisation anymore. It is a project of re-centralisation, only this time through code and compliance. A privately issued, regulated stablecoin, backed by U.S. Treasury bonds, offers something traditional crypto never could: a vector for the dollar's reach in a world where SWIFT, sanctions, and even correspondent banking face rising geopolitical friction. If the eurodollar was the invisible engine of postwar hegemony, the stablecoin is the programmable chassis of what comes next.

For all the mainstream media's criticism of President Trump, this is a stroke of genius: the White House needs a weaker dollar to boost exports without undermining global appetite for U.S. Treasuries. Stablecoins make that balancing act possible.