America Enters the Debt Service Era
US interest payments on national debt have surpassed $1 trillion for the first time, overtaking both defense spending and Medicare and marking a historic shift in federal finances. What was once a background line item has become the single largest expense in the US budget, raising concerns across markets about sustainability and long-term fiscal risk.
As debt servicing costs accelerate, Washington is turning to an unlikely tool for support: stablecoins. New regulations now require stablecoin issuers to hold reserves in short-term US Treasuries, effectively transforming crypto infrastructure into a structural buyer of government debt. Analysts estimate this demand could absorb a significant share of future Treasury issuance as foreign buyers step back.
The moment signals a deeper change in the relationship between government finance and digital assets. While many investors continue to default to gold in times of stress, stablecoins are quietly becoming part of the plumbing of US debt markets—suggesting crypto’s role in the global financial system is moving from the fringe to the core.