Putin Advisor Alleges U.S. Uses Stablecoins to Manipulate Debt

From Moscow, allegations are multiplying. A close advisor to Vladimir Putin claims that Washington uses stablecoins and gold to lighten the overwhelming burden of a public debt now exceeding 37 trillion dollars. A strategy that, if confirmed, could disrupt the balance of global finance.

Washington under fire from Russian accusations

Anton Kobyakov, advisor to the Russian president, launched a frontal attack on Monday against the American monetary strategy. 

At the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, he declared that the United States is trying to rewrite the rules of the gold and cryptocurrency markets. For him, this approach aims to urgently remedy declining confidence in the dollar.

The Russian official draws a striking parallel with past crises. “As in the 1930s and the 1970s, the U.S. plans to solve its financial problems at the world’s expense—this time by pushing everyone into the ‘crypto cloud’,” he says. Washington is, according to him, “pushing everyone into the cryptographic cloud.”

The thesis advanced by Kobyakov is simple: by transferring part of their debt to dollar-backed stablecoins, the United States would manage to devalue its real value. A sort of financial reset, offering Washington the possibility to “start from zero.” 

However, the Russian advisor did not detail the technical mechanisms that would allow such an operation, leaving doubts about the feasibility of this scenario.

The scale of the challenge is dizzying. American national debt now reaches 37.43 trillion dollars according to Treasury data. This amount represents more than ten times the 1981 level. An acceleration is underway: for the 33 years before 1981, this debt fluctuated between 3.3 and 3.66 trillion.

Stablecoins, the new American geopolitical weapon

American officials offer a very different reading of this strategy combining crypto and debt. For Washington, stablecoins are not a tool for devaluation but a shield intended to preserve the global dominance of the dollar. 

This vision finds concrete resonance in the Bitcoin law proposed by Senator Cynthia Lummis. The text provides for the government to acquire one million bitcoins over five years. These assets would be held for two decades unless used to repay federal debt.

Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan highlighted another advantage of stablecoins in July 2024. For him, dollar-backed stablecoins create demand for US public debt and help maintain a competitive edge over China. They also reduce the risk of failure in debt auctions, thus avoiding a potential crisis.

The strategy was consolidated this summer with Donald Trump’s signing of the GENIUS Act, a law that regulates and structures the issuance of dollar-backed stablecoins. Washington thus intends to institutionalize a tool capable of extending the greenback’s dominance.

In response, Moscow is preparing its own counter-offensive: the launch of A7A5, a rouble-backed stablecoin issued on the Tron blockchain. The stated objective: reduce dependence on Tether (USDT). This initiative is part of a broader dedollarization dynamic already initiated by Beijing, which is gradually shifting away from Treasury bonds in favor of gold and alternative assets.