🦬 Buffalo Bill: The 34 Trillion Stablecoin Power Play
Arthur Hayes says U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott “Buffalo Bill” Bessent is about to pull off the greatest money hack of our era: turn stablecoins into America’s new financial superweapon.
⚡ Quick Hits
- 💵 34T — potential capital inflow to U.S. Treasuries via stablecoins
- 🌍 Global South + EU → the new on-ramp for dollar demand
- 📱 WhatsApp, Insta, X wallets = banks bypassed
- 🏦 Stablecoins = digital eurodollars 2.0
- 🔮 Winners: ETHFI, ENA, HYPE and the entire DeFi universe
🌐 The Old World Is Cracking
- Eurodollars (10–13T) = offshore USD outside U.S. control.
- Problem? They don’t buy U.S. debt. Uncle Sam gains zero benefit.
- Post-2008: QE, bailouts, dedollarization fears → trust erodes.
- Result: BRICS stack gold, Treasuries lose shine.
🚀 Enter Buffalo Bill
Bessent’s pitch = stablecoins as turbocharged digital dollars.
How it works:
1️⃣ User sends USD → stablecoin issuer.
2️⃣ Issuer mints 1 token = 1 USD.
3️⃣ Collateral goes straight into short-term Treasuries.
4️⃣ Token circulates globally, but America gets the demand.
It’s the cleanest loop ever:
- Users get safe digital dollars.
- Issuers pocket yield (4.25%).
- Treasury soaks up fresh demand.
💸 The 34 Trillion Shockwave
- Eurodollar migration: 10–13T → stablecoins.
- Global South + EU retail: +21T potential inflow.
- Total: 34T, enough to supercharge U.S. Treasuries.
And it won’t happen via banks — it’ll be through apps you already use:
📱 WhatsApp, Insta, X wallets → stablecoin accounts for billions.
👀 Imagine: a gig worker in Manila stacking USDT on WhatsApp while local banks fade into irrelevance.
🔗 Stablecoins → DeFi Jet Fuel
Every USDT minted = new liquidity in DeFi.
Example:
- Fernando in the Philippines stakes 1,000 USDT.
- He gets psUSDT (yield-bearing token).
- That fuels lending, DEXs, derivatives → TVL explodes.
Projects primed for moon math:
- ⚡ ETHFI ×34
- 💠 ENA ×51
- 🌐 HYPE ×126
🏦 Pax Americana, Tokenized
Hayes’ thesis: the U.S. doesn’t need tanks. It has stablecoins.
- 💵 Dollar dominance 2.0 → digital rails, not eurodollars.
- 🏦 Treasury, not the Fed, sets the tone.
- 🌍 Local currencies risk collapse as citizens shift into stables.
- 🔮 DeFi becomes the global financial OS.
The cost? Smaller nations lose monetary sovereignty. The gain? The U.S. wins the financial endgame.
✍️ TL;DR — Why This Matters
- 🦬 Buffalo Bill = stablecoins as America’s new eurodollars.
- 💵 34T demand could flow into Treasuries.
- 📱 Social apps like WhatsApp & Insta become wallets for billions.
- 🔗 Stablecoins fuel DeFi, boosting protocols like ETHFI, ENA, HYPE.
- 🌍 Big picture: Stablecoins aren’t a side quest. They’re the future of global finance—and America just weaponized them.