Stablecoins as monetary plumbing: how blockchain is quietly extending the global dollar system
Stablecoins as monetary plumbing: how blockchain is quietly extending the global dollar system
Most people think of money in visible terms: bank accounts, payment apps, cards or cash. But money, similar to water or electricity, depends far more on infrastructure than interfaces. Pipes matter more than faucets. Over the last decade, digital assets, especially blockchain networks, have been quietly evolving into something far more consequential than speculative instruments. They are becoming the monetary plumbing of the global US dollar system. This transformation is not loud, ideological or revolutionary in appearance; it is incremental, technical and largely invisible to the public. Yet beneath the surface, blockchain networks are increasingly supporting US dollar flows, liquidity management, settlement and interoperability across financial systems. Moreover, the irony is that whilst digital assets were once framed as alternatives to the US dollar, they are now reinforcing and extendin…
