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Trump's crypto push and Bessent's Treasury playbook are quietly working in tandem

The Genius Act requires stablecoins to hold short-term Treasurys, which could support Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's effort to shift borrowing toward shorter maturities

The connection runs through stablecoins. Under the Genius Act, the crypto regulatory law passed last year, U.S.-issued stablecoins backed by the dollar can hold only certain assets to maintain their peg — including Treasury securities maturing within 93 days. Bessent has previously cited projections that the stablecoin market could grow from its current $300 billion to nearly $4 trillion, and has written that such growth "could lower government borrowing costs," according to the Journal.

Last week, the U.S. Treasury announced it would increase buybacks of longer-term bonds — a move that can be funded by issuing more short-term Treasury bills. Bessent, speaking on CNBC, called the approach a Treasury twist. Stablecoin growth would create additional demand for exactly those shorter-dated instruments.